Burns' Game
by JoshButro
Summary: Burns has come to the decision he can no longer run Springfield's Nuclear Power Plant, but won't turn it over to anyone. Only six residents will compete for ownership with Burns overseeing how his game is played and who wins to show Burns they are just like him. However, when the game starts, it turns into something more than a normal game.
1. Chapter One

Chapter One

"...and the fish hasn't been seen for a long time. However there are reports of a new four-eyed fish popping up in Lake Springfield, and we have an eye-witness report live from there now."

"Hey, yeah Kent, it's Cletus, and I just saw me that four-eyed fish swam through here. And I wish I had my fishing pole, cause I'd have caught him, and we could all get a look-see. But he was too fast." Cletus explained in his hillbilly style ranting. "I'll just wait here and see if he comes back." He stood there with his dumb-founded look just staring into the Lake Springfield as the fish could come back any second now, and he did not want to miss it.

"Okay. You can just stand there and wait, I think the camera crew is leaving," Kent mumbled not knowing the camera was live back on him. "And I'm back. The four-eyed fish is as elusive as ever, and if anyone can catch it, it would be Bart Simpson who you may remember caught the three-eyed fish who was poisoned by the toxic waste from Mr. Burns' nuclear plant." He paused as something had caught his attention in his ear. He intently listened for a few seconds then continued on. "And speaking of Mr. Burns, I'm being told that there is very important news from Mr. Burns about the city of Springfield and he will be speaking shortly. We will go live for his speech at that time, but in the meantime, stay tuned for Duff Beer Presents: Womens Competitive..."

"Boring!" exclaimed Homer as he turned the television off in disgust.

"Dad! Womens sports are becoming just as competitive as men's sports and are starting to get the recognition they deserve." Lisa was right as she always was when correcting Homer about women's rights and anything contrary to the male ego.

"Boring!" Homer said again. "The only thing they get credit for during sporting events is playing the same sport with longer hair and shorter uniforms, and that is worth tuning in for." He wasn't wrong, however Lisa disagreed with that.

"But Dad! Maybe I want to grow up and play a professional women's sport," sounding confident that she could, because she could and usually did anything she put her mind to.

"You tried that, and you still didn't win. Remember the hockey game." came the voice from the other side of Lisa. Bart had to throw his two or three cents in, just because it was a way to dig at Lisa and keep the sibling rivalry going.

"It was a tie! We decided to stop the fighting and help each other, but that has obviously been forgotten. Dad you were there, tell Bart it was a tie."

"You're both right. Bart, neither of you won and Lisa, we did go out for ice cream afterwords. Mmm... Ice cream, with sprinkles and..."

"Dad!" getting upset with Homer's lack of concentration. "Just make me happy and turn the TV back on."

"Fine. We can watch Womens sporting something until Burns comes on with his fancy announcement." He sounded defeated but knew this women's sports topic wouldn't last long. Just long enough until something smarter interested Lisa.

"We will continue with Womens Foxy Boxing right after this message from Duff Beer." The announcer sounded more interested in the beer than the boxing.

"Duffman here, and I'll be traveling around your town soon with some of that golden, refreshing Duff Beer. Oh yeah. So look for me and the Duff Girls riding around in the Duff Party Bus. Duffman is outta here. Oh Yeah." As the commercial ended it was partly interrupted by breaking news.

"Kent Brockman here. Breaking News as C. Montgomery Burns is standing on his second floor balcony waiting to give us his news. And we go live to Burns Mansion... from outside the gate. The guard dogs already chased us out once." reported by an enthusiastic Kent Brockman who turned dejected because the mansion gate was as far as they could get.

"I have wonderful news for the city of Springfield. I'm giving up my nuclear power plant." Burns said solemnly, as he had brought nuclear power to Springfield and is its longest and only owner. "But I won't just give it to anyone, they must prove themselves to me. Being the entrepreneur and capitalist that I am, you must show me the same. For I will not turn over the plant to someone who hasn't shown me the same traits I have lived my live by: innovation, imagination, financial strength, and a shrewd businessman if called upon. Everyone is invited to try, however I will pick the participants and the most fair way is by a lottery system. Six random citizens will be chosen to play in my game, to show me the best businessman to turnover my precious power plant to. But be warned, if you play and lose, there are consequences I need not speak of. Tomorrow at this same time, I will choose the fate of the lucky six. Now leave, I have business to attend to, and in five minutes I release the hounds again."

Shocked at what had just been said, Kent Brockman didn't know what to say, but eventually stammered out "...Well, you heard it here first. C. Montgomery Burns is giving up his power plant." Gaining composure he finished. "Tune in tomorrow to see who the lucky six Springfield residents are that have a chance to own Burns' plant and most likely his fortune."

Homer turned the television off again to gain the attention of the family.

"Well, if I win, I am going to shut down the power plant." Lisa jumped in first, as everyone expected. "Wind farms and solar panels and..."

"I wouldn't have a job. I have been scared many times of being fired, but if there is a new owner, will they keep me?" Homer got worried at the prospect of needing a new job, or needing to impress a new owner.

"I say let it run, I'm waiting for a five-eyed fish." Bart just wanted to come up with something contrary to Lisa.

The town had to rely on the power plant, as it was the only source of electricity for all of Springfield. Everyone was happy with it, but now was the chance to change that.

"You both aren't seeing the bigger picture. Over in Shelbyville, they have moved away from complete dependance on nuclear power, and are starting to incorporate wind farms, not to mention almost every house has solar panels on it. We could move into the future too, by not needing that nuclear plant." Homer looked more dejected at every mention of shutting down the plant, he had worked at for so many years. "And we can finally clean up Lake Springfield like it used to be."

"Oh yeah, like when the dome was over the city. Those were the good times." Homer added, "We didn't have to worry about Shelbyville then. Two feet of glass prevented any news from coming into Springfield. Can we just put a dome over the power plant? Would that make you happy Lisa?" trying to find a bargaining chip with her.

"No. I want it shut down, and if I win, no more power plant. We can clean up this town, and it starts now. Clean energy is the future." Lisa stated confidently.

"Did I miss anything while I was out?" Marge had entered the room, having just got back from running errands. Several bags of groceries in one hand, and Maggie in the other.

"Nothing much. Burns is giving away the power plant." Homer stated nonchalantly.

"We can win it and..." Lisa tried to say her thought of shutting it down again, but Bart interrupted her. He seemed the most excited out of the three of them who had seen Burns' speech, but he was used to having all the fun and adventures of the family.

"Yeah, we could be the new owners of the greatest thing in town. I could learn how to run a nuclear plant." It was another new adventure Bart could have, as if he was already planning on participating and winning.

This really surprised Marge. She tried to continue walking through the room, but had to stop and set the groceries down. Even Maggie stopped and looked at the others, as if she understood what was happening.

"Did I hear you correctly? Burns is giving away the power plant?" She questioned it, not thinking it was real. "That power plant was built ages ago and Burns has been the only one to run it. How can he possibly just give it away."

"He isn't just giving away to any random person. He said something about playing a game, and being like him. You know, I tried to be his heir at one time, so maybe that will help." Memories came back to Bart to see if there was anything useful he had learned.

Lisa had looked confused and a little disgusted. "I don't think anyone could be like him, or would want to be like him. He stands for everything I'm against. Who knows if there will even be a winner that he will just turn the keys over to. I can see him refusing to crown a winner and keep the power plant for himself."

"Or just rig something that makes Smithers the winner." Homer thought out loud for a second. Smithers was Burns' number one assistant and caregiver. Why would Burns not just turn ownership over to Smithers. "Everything Burns needs or wants Smithers is there for him."

Marge had to finish this before everyone got any ideas of grandeur in their heads. "Something doesn't seem right." She was always the voice of reason for the family. "He should just give Smithers the power plant, but why is he not. That is the easiest answer, but not the right one." The more she thought, the more she wanted her family to stay away from this whole idea.

"No matter how it goes we have to wait until tomorrow to see who gets selected." Lisa calmly repeated, and mainly for Marge to know that this conversation would not end tonight.

"I hope it's me. I'll show Burns I deserve the power plant after many years of servitude." Homer hoped.

"I hope it's me. I've been Burns' heir before and I'll show him, it should have been me all along." Bart hoped.

"I hope it's me. I'm the smartest one to possibly win his game, whatever it is, and then I can release this town's dependance on that polluting power plant." Lisa hoped.

"Well, I hope it's none of you." Marge countered everyone. "I don't trust him, and I don't want anyone from this family getting involved. But I guess we will have to wait and find out who the lucky six players are tomorrow."


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"Glad that is over with." Remarked Homer, a little tired from the errands ran after the usual Sunday morning spent in church. "Is there something going on in this town? Everyone just seemed weird today."

"Yeah, more weird than normal. This town has its characters, but everybody was so..." Bart couldn't finish his thought before Marge interjected.

"Nice. People are never nice to us. The Krusty Burger staff seemed like they cared about serving good food. Reverend Lovejoy ignored the fact you fell asleep during the opening hymn." Still frustrated over Homer's usual church antics, Marge let it slide since no one seemed to take offense to his snoring today.

Lisa looking ever frustrated with Homer's lack of personality reminded the family the reason for the townspeople's unusual kindness. "The Lottery." She said as plainly as she could. "How could you all forget this. It's such a big deal. The multimillion dollar science project polluting our lake will have a new owner and it could be one of us."

The excitement raised in Lisa's voice the more she continued, remembering her thoughts from yesterday, on what Springfield would be like without the Nuclear Power Plant, then she was reminded of the odds that she may not even have the opportunity to fulfill her dreams.

"There are hundreds of people Burns could pick from." Bart reminded Lisa, if only to destroy her thoughts of being one of the six. "It could be Barney, or Apu or..."

"Or Sideshow Bob." Lisa countered, if only to scare Bart.

"Oh, that's today?" Homer asked, completely absent-minded anything was happening. "I had completely forgot."

Lisa looking even more frustrated just wanted to scream, but calmed down enough to maintain a normal voice. "How could you forget? When is anyone nice to us. We are disliked by most of the residents here. They even tried to get us to leave on several occasions, but we always end up back here."

Everyone nodded in agreement. They weren't the most liked family, but they were just as much a part of Springfield as the Tire Fire or the Power Plant itself.

"Everyone was just nice to us, thinking that we have an advantage of being picked. I mean, you do work at the power plant, and you talk to Burns more than the average citizen." Marge explained, and it made sense to at least Lisa.

"But he doesn't remember my name most of the time, unless I screw something up." Homer felt saddened by the fact that Burns still had not learned his name, after being an employee at the power plant since the beginning days of its life. The few times a major incident was his fault, Burns knew exactly who Homer Simpson was, but other times he was just a nameless employee in Sector 7-G.

"Dad, he doesn't remember any of our names. There are many times where he has to be told who he is talking to, and he will probably have the names of the citizens written on the lottery balls." Homer agreed with Lisa. She was usually right about these kinds of things.

"You are probably right, wonder who he will pick?" Homer continued to wonder as it seemed to play on his mind about the future of the power plant.

"I still say he will pick people he knows the name of, like me. I'm Burns' heir, so how long until I'm crowned King of Springfield?" Bart caught the attention of everyone as he picked up a bowl off of the table and placed it on his head.

"Or Queen of Springfield." Lisa said as she stole the bowl from Bart.

"Take that off. Even if you are picked, no one with the last name of Simpson is playing in Mr. Burns' twisted game." Marge still did not want anyone getting involved in this unknown.

"What about Grandpa?" Bart quickly thought and spoke.

Marge groaned at that remark. "Grandpa can do whatever he wants, he can make his own decisions. But no child of mine will participate." She insisted repeatedly, neither Lisa nor Bart got her point.

"Woo-hoo, you said children. I still have a chance." Homer seemed relieved he wasn't included in the family members not able to play.

"That includes you too, Homer. No one living under this roof will be a part of Burns' game." Marge needed to reword her answer to include everyone without any loopholes.

"D'oh!" exclaimed Homer.

Lisa and Bart both saw the finality of Marge's decision. "But Mom!" They both let out. "It's not fair." Lisa tried to add, but it didn't seem to matter.

"I said no, and that's it. Burns is a man not to be trusted and he just finds a way to screw people out of what they deserve. Burns owes a lot to you saving his life by donating blood to him, when no one in Springfield had a matching blood type except you. And what did you get out of it." Marge thought level-headed reasoning might work better.

"It sure wasn't eternal gratitude." Bart said snidely.

"Even after confronting him, all we got was that giant head statue and you don't even play with that anymore." Marge reminded.

"That's because it's in the basement. Nobody plays in the basement. Too creepy." Bart remarked, getting a few chills thinking what lurked in the basement.

"How did we even get it downstairs anyways?" Lisa questioned in a quiet voice.

"Beats me. How do a lot of strange things seem to happen around here? They just do." Bart replied just as mystified.

"The point is..." Homer started as Marge spoke over him.

"The point is, the head is something you kids don't play with because you got bored with it. Same thing with anything else you win. It's just something you will get bored with and it will end up in the basement or the attic." Marge explained, as there was any number of examples she could have used to prove her point.

"Ooh, let's go play in the attic. So many boxes, so many memories." Homer shrieked like a little kid.

"We're not going into the attic." Marge scolded. "Boxes of memories can wait for a rainy day."

Lisa had her attention diverted from the family's discussion of boxes and basements by the television. They had all patiently waited for this big moment since yesterday. "I think it's time." She glanced back at the television as she said this to see if anyone else followed her gaze.

"How can you tell?" Homer asked, as he just noticed Burns' face the full size of the screen. "Burns!"

"There he is, he looks bigger on television, instead of the skinny weak-boned old man." Bart thought out loud.

Marge's dislike for this whole idea came out again. "I'm not watching this and neither is anyone else." She grabbed the remote and turned the channel.

"How are we supposed to know what happens?" Homer complained. "But I want to know who Burns picks."

"Don't worry Dad, just turn around. He is on every channel." Lisa stated as Homer turned around and grinned he could still see the drawing.

"What the...?" Marge frantically changed the channel several times quickly. "You're right, he is on every channel. I guess we are stuck."

They all sat down on the couch and turned their undivided attention towards the image of Mr. Burns, which then changed into Kent Brockman reporting from his news desk.

"Kent Brockman here with the moment we have all been waiting for. Six. Just six people will have their names drawn from Burns' lottery machine for a chance to win his power plant. We go live to the drawing taking place at Burns Manor from inside the gate today." Kent Brockman sounded excited as he always did, to make the news sound more interesting than it actually was. "Is that true? Inside the gate?" He said quietly to others just off camera. He chuckled nervously for a second. "And here's Mr. Burns."

"Greetings citizens of Springfield." Burns announced to the crowd of people standing in his courtyard, and to the viewers watching at home. "Welcome to the moment you all waited your whole life for."

"You only announced this contest yesterday, how could anyone have been waiting their whole life?" Smithers asked, but was quickly ignored by Burns.

"With that being said, I'll continue now, and I'm sure many of you are wondering why I'm giving my precious power plant away. I built this power plant many years ago right here in Springfield. I built it for the future of this town, but now I can no longer keep up with the daily operations, constant inspector visits, or the level of shenanigans I see on all the security cameras. It is time to give someone else a chance at this wonderful opportunity." Burns continued his speech on how great the power plant was with information that not many would find interesting. "So in conclusion, I have developed my plan in selecting a new owner."

Burns wrapped up his speech, as everyone grew more anxious about what was about to happen. The crowd started cheering as the giant metal cage filled with hundreds of white balls was rolled out in front of them.

"This must be it." Homer said as a tense feeling filled everyone watching. "What if our names aren't even in there."

"That could be the reality of it." Lisa pondered. "No one except Mr. Burns and probably Smithers know exactly whose names are even in there. He could be playing the town for fools."

"We just have to hope for the best." Marge added, but the rest of the family didn't get the double meaning of her comment.

Their focus turned back to the television where Mr. Burns appeared to be ready to start the biggest sweepstakes in Springfield history. "I'll just mix up the lottery balls some," as he grabbed the handle, his weak body could not turn it to spin the cage. Smithers came over and took control and cranked it several times.

"There we go, nice and mixed up, so there isn't any possible complaints." Smithers said to Burns a little louder than he intended.

"That is an odd thing to say." Remarked Lisa. Trying to figure out what it meant.

"Quiet, he is drawing the first name." Bart fired over at Lisa. Anything he could do to dampen her mood, he tried.

As Burns reached into the metal cage he dug deep to pull one of the lottery balls out of the middle. An eerie quiet came over the crowd. This was it, the first person to have a chance to win the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. He stood back up and held the lottery ball high in the air and then lowered it to read the name printed on it.

"The first person is..." Burns looked again at the ball he held in his hand. "Frank Grimes."

The crowd gasped when they heard this name read.

The family noticed a look of disbelief on Homer's face. "Dad, isn't that..." Lisa started to ask before Homer just simply nodded. The attention turned back to the television.

"Uh, Frank Grimes got electrocuted in your plant a few years ago." Smithers reminded Burns, as a look of shock came over his face.

"Smithers, did you not check the lottery balls with my list." Burns asked. "That's why I gave you that list. So we wouldn't be up here in front of the town drawing a bad name."

"I did. That list was the last census for Springfield, so it may be a bit outdated." Smithers replied as he took the list from his pocket, checked it, and put it back in.

"First name and this is how everyone will remember the start to my game, the beginning of the end of my legacy. I need a break for a cup of tea, before I draw more names. I'll be back in a minute." As he exited Smithers laughed nervously before following Burns back into the mansion.

Stunned, Kent Brockman tried to act normal while he tried to think of something to say during the awkwardness of the first name drawn being a former resident. "And there you have it, Frank Grimes, the first person picked is unable to play due to electrocution inside Burns power plant. Is this the fate that everyone picked faces, or what will happen to them." Getting excited as usual for non-news stories, he played up this old event from several years ago. "Well never mind that, its old news, Burns is now back and we are ready to see who the first person is."

"I shall try this again, and any mistakes I fully blame on Smithers. Maybe second place can take over as the assistant to the winner." Burns said in an evil tone of voice which worried Smithers. "I will reach in again and..."

Burns dug deep into the lottery machine and pulled out another lottery ball and held it high.

"The first person is..." as Burns closed his palm around the answer.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"Ned Flanders." Burns proudly announced to the crowd and held the lottery ball above his head again. The crowd started to cheer, because they knew Ned Flanders was a better choice than Frank Grimes.

"Flanders? Why does he get everything?" Homer frustratingly said. He didn't really care who played, but he wanted anyone except his next door neighbor and rival Ned Flanders to get it. "We must win now, right Marge?"

"I don't know. He is our neighbor." Marge answered to the disdain of Homer.

"We can't let Flanders win. All he does is sell left-handed scissors at the mall, then from that push cart, then the mall again." Homer reminded the family, and continued his thought about the time Flanders almost lost his business and went bankrupt, but overall Homer didn't want it to go that far.

The more Lisa thought about Ned Flanders winning the game, she thought about how he would either run the power plant or shut it down. This might be the one player she should cheer for and maybe help decide the fate of the prize. "What do you think Flanders would do with the power plant?" But no one answered her, knowing it was a loaded question.

"But if Flanders wins, Rod and Todd will be the heirs to the Burns' fortune. I'm the rightful heir. Homer win me a power plant. You work there, use your connections to the old man and get selected." Bart pleaded but knew that none of the people who work at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant could affect the outcome, except maybe Smithers.

"I still don't think it's a good idea to play. Something still does not seem right with this." Marge reminded, as seeing Burns on the television made her want to leave the room. She had a list full of reasons not to trust Burns, stemming from previously working for him as a temporary employee.

"But Marge. It's about family honor now. We can't let Flanders take the power plant to his family, it should be us. I've helped build that power plant into what it is today." Homer was serious now. He wasn't going to let Flanders take it from him.

"Yeah, one accident at a time." Bart quickly came back at Homer.

"I hate to say it, but they are both right." Lisa suggested. "We have always rivaled Flanders and his kids, and that is what you have taught us Dad. And he did help shape the standards now used to be accident free for a long time." The more Lisa went on, Marge started to hear the positive reasons of this game. "You have to let us play. Please Mom?"

"Oh, alright. It's still a longshot with only five names to go." Marge had finally changed her mind.

The attention then focused back on Mr. Burns as Marge quietly took her seat on the couch. "And from what I hear, this is a good pick. Ned Flanders is alive and able to play." Burns stated to the crowd, who wanted him to pick another name. "Now that we got one, let's go for two. But first, Smithers mix this thing again, we don't want anyone to think this event is rigged."

"Only if you drew my name, sir." Smithers replied. "Then it might seem suspicious."

"Did you remove your name from the drawing? If I wanted you to have my wonderful and profitable power plant I would just give it to you and not waste my time on this silly game." Burns said in a tone of voice that showed his assistant of many years had no more of a chance to win than the average citizen.

"My name was on your list." as Smithers pulled the list from his pocket again and scanned for his name. "I am just as eligible to play your game."

"True that may be. You would still have to win." Burns sneered at Smithers in a low voice the audience would not be able to hear. "Now if Smithers will spin the names, we can continue."

Smithers spun the cage of lottery balls again and stepped aside for Burns to step up and reach in for another name. He removed a lottery ball and held it high as he said the name.

"Jeff Albertson." Burns triumphantly stated. There was some chattering among the crowd as they looked around while trying to figure out who had just been picked. No one was cheering or celebrating, so the name didn't mean much to anyone.

"Who is Jeff Albertson?" Homer inquired. He looked at the others to see if anyone had any signs of an answer.

"I've never heard of him, and I know everyone in town." Lisa was sure she knew everyone, but this name didn't register with her.

"Everyone knows you Lisa just from wanting to vote against, or argue against everything that they want." Marge reminded Lisa of her many attempts of trying to change events she couldn't control.

"Well, I know who it is. Get with the program people." There were not many people Bart knew their full names, but this was one of them. He taunted Lisa for knowing something she didn't.

"How would you know who it is?" Lisa questioned a little stunned.

"Because I talk to him on a regular basis, almost daily. Jeff Albertson is the comic book guy." Bart explained. "He owns the Android's Dungeon Comic Book Shop."

"I never knew what his name was. I've talked to him many times while waiting for you kids to read all his comics, but never asked him if he had a name." Homer remarked as he was thinking how much time he had spent in the shop for not reading any of the comics.

"You're right, he doesn't mention his own name, so we all just call him Comic Book Guy." Lisa realized. She tried to think of all the times she was at his shop and maybe just missed his name, but she came up with nothing.

Bart tried to remember when he heard the real name of Comic Book Guy, but he did not know the exact day. "I heard him say it once, I don't remember when though, but I know that is his name. He does seem to answer to the nickname Comic Book Guy more though.

"Well good for him, but I hate to say there are only four names left for a chance to defend the family's honor." Marge's attitude was completely changed from before. Instead of fighting this event, she agreed with it now.

Burns appeared back on the television and continued speaking about the last name drawn. "Well it seems no one knows who that is, so let's move on. Smithers, spin this thing again."

"I don't think it needs any more spinning, sir. It seems random enough to me." Smithers shot at a stunned Burns.

It took a second to realize what Smithers had just said, but there was a tension building between them. Smithers thought he deserved the power plant, but got the real answer when Burns wouldn't just give it to him. "Well fine then, it appears your services are no longer required, but you can stay and watch, if you like." He grabbed another name the same as the last ones and stated, "Lurleen Lumpkin," getting a mixed response of cheers and confused answers from the crowd.

Smithers started to say something, then decided it was best to keep it to himself.

"Her?" Questioned Marge.

"I thought she left town after Dad helped her become a country music star." Lisa added. "You helped her get famous then decided family was more important than fame."

"She did, but it didn't work out for her, so she ended up in Springfield again. Last I heard she was still here." Homer answered with no interest in finding out if she really was.

"I havent heard about her lately, you sure she is still here?" Lisa wondered.

"I don't know, but it caused too much tension between Marge and me. We'll find out soon enough." Homer thought out loud.

"Only one way to find out, either she will play or she won't." Bart concluded.

The conversation ended as quickly as it started, it was a touchy subject that no one really wanted to go into. Burns collected their attention again as the family turned back to the television.

"I bet everyone is getting nervous as we are half way through the names. These last three people are lucky to get picked, but in my opinion, I think those not playing are the lucky ones." Burns said with a strange look in his eye.

"What a really odd thing to say." Lisa pointed out.

"See, that's exactly why I don't want anyone playing." Marge's opinion of this game had changed back to dangerous again.

"It's Burns just trying to scare people. He doesn't want to seem too soft." Bart added to the conversation, as Marge started to react to the comment.

"Well I don't like it, someone should stop him." Marge demanded.

"They will. That's the point of winning." Lisa finished as Burns began to draw another ball.

"Here we go. Anyone getting nervous yet?" He grabbed the next ball the same way and proclaimed: "Moe Szyslak." A nervous chuckle went through the crowd. Moe was himself. Nothing extraordinary, just the local bartender. Everyone knew him and his life story which was full of sadness and triumph.

"Woo-hoo. I vote moe!" Homer exclaimed to the rest of the family.

"Dad! It's not a popularity contest." Lisa seemed to get frustrated as Homer's focus shifted from one of the family winning to a friend that just got selected to play.

"Moe needs something good like this to happen in his life." Marge seemed to have a lighter attitude now that there was someone in the game that needed a fresh start at a better life.

"I guess no more prank calls if he wins. He won't be bar tending anymore." Bart said in a sadden voice. "Those prank calls were the funniest two minutes of my day."

"Wonder if Moe will have a replacement bartender?" Homer asked. This would part a big dent in his weekly plans.

"You just need to find something else to do besides drink at the bar." Marge scolded. "That's all you do. Every time you aren't home, I just drive down to Moe's Tavern to find you hanging out with your bar buddies."

"It's more than that Marge. It's like a brotherhood down there. All of us lowly power plant workers go there after work to relax and joke around about how crappy our day was." Homer defended Moe's Tavern. It was like a second home to him. He had seen it through all the good times, and the worse times.

"Last time you were in a brotherhood, they threw you out. Until they realized you were their 'chosen one'." Bart remembered. "Those were some fun times."

"Oh yeah. The Stonecutters. I had completely forgot. I was in charge of Burns, I remember now. Can we join that again?" Homer went on about his earlier adventure.

"That was a long time ago. I don't know if they are still around?" Lisa thought.

"We could ask Burns." Bart laughed as he continued. "See if he remembers. You made him look like a lowly worker."

"Maybe later. He is back at the lottery machine." Marge gathered the attention of the family again to the television.

"Well, I'm getting more excited. Only two more people to choose, then my wonderful game can begin." Burns reached in again and pulled the next name. "Jasper Beardly." There came a few cheers from the crowd. "And it seems he is standing in the audience. Finally I can guarantee at least one player."

The crowd parted as Jasper stepped forward to say a few words. "I'll tell you young people something. If you get in my way, that's a paddling. Not cheering for me, that's also a paddling. Leaving before I win the prize, that's two paddlings." Another cheer was heard from the same elderly citizens standing next to Jasper.

"It seems the senior center took a field trip to Burns Manor." Marge pointed out.

"I don't think they get out much. It's good for them to get some fresh air." Lisa wanted to help the elder citizens when she could, even if she only entertained them with her saxophone.

"At least we didn't have to go pick up Grandpa. Someone else drove him there, they can drive him back." Homer said to himself, as he did not want to deal with Grandpa Simpson tonight. The night was stressful enough.

"But we only pick up Grandpa when we have to. We should be more involved." Lisa tried to reason, but the focus was back on the television.

Everyone seemed to get nervous as Burns appeared on the screen again, as there was one last name to select for his game. "Who will be the last one to join the game?" Burns narrated to the crowd as he stepped up to the cage one last time.

"Well this is it. One more name and no one in this family will be subjected to this twisted idea of Burns." Marge sounded relieved. The odds were slim as they had been for everyone else picked.

Burns reached in and grabbed another lottery ball. Being the final pick, he held it high and announced: "Lisa Simpson!"

"Alright! I got picked." Lisa jumped up and down, very excited that she had a chance to win the power plant and change the landscape of Springfield.

"D'oh!" was all Homer could think to say as Marge looked at him with a disappointed look as she left the room.

The excitement was paused as Burns had one last thing to say. "I'm an impatient man, and want to start this game sooner rather than later. Tomorrow at high noon, those six people need to be at Burns Manor so we can begin. Now everyone get off my property before I release the hounds."

"Six lucky people were chosen, and Burns' game starts tomorrow. Join us live for continuing news coverage from Burns Manor. Kent Brockman standing by until then." Homer turned the television off and sat back down on the couch.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"Come on Dad. We are going to be late." Lisa impatiently yelled across the room at Homer, who seemed to be taking his time.

"I'm almost ready. Just one more shoe." Homer answered as he hurriedly tried to put on the other shoe. Lisa was eager to get to the game, as it started in an hour.

"Well Lisa, today is the day to beat these people. This should be a piece of cake for you." Bart encouraged.

"Mmm... cake, and make sure you beat Flanders. Wonder if we have any cake?" Homer's thoughts changed from getting his other shoe on, to what type of cake mix was hidden in the kitchen.

"Dad, focus!" Lisa yelled again. "And I love games, so this should be easy. Hey, where is Mom?" Marge wasn't in the room with the rest of them getting ready. No one had seen Marge all morning. This was not like her to stay upstairs during the day, especially on an eventful day like this.

"I don't know. She was upstairs getting ready. I haven't seen her since I woke up." Homer started thinking how long Marge had been upstairs. "Maybe I should go get her."

"It's alright Dad. She hasn't liked the idea of this game since it started." Lisa sighed deeply before continuing. "Well, I hope she comes with us. If for any reason, to cheer for me."

Bart's ears perked up as he heard a few noises coming from the second floor. "I think I hear something upstairs, sounds like footsteps."

Lisa ran over to the bottom of the stairs and looked up to the top. Marge had appeared out of the bedroom and started down the stairs.

"I'm only coming to support my little girl, I still don't..." Marge started before Homer interrupted her.

"You still don't trust Mr. Burns, and who would after everything he has done." Homer finished his thought and waited for Marge to come up with another answer.

"This seems like the latest in his schemes. Something doesn't seem right. Why would he just give his power plant to someone." Marge continued, but then stopped because it was the same conversation that had happened many times already.

"I'll show him that we won't fall for his tricks anymore." Lisa said with a certain arrogance, that she was going to be the winner of whatever it was she was going to participate in.

The family finished getting ready, jumped in the car, and drove to Burns Manor. "It seems like everyone in Springfield is here." Marge pointed out. "I didn't know Burns had a parking lot."

"He doesn't. Everyone is just parking is his side yard so the walk is short to the front gate. Park there too." Bart encouraged just because it was one small way to get under Burns skin.

Homer parked the car. Everyone got out and walked up to the front gate where a crowd of people waited and fit into the crowd the best they could.

"Hey Homer." Came a voice to his left. It was Lenny, who worked and drank with Homer.

"What are you two doing here?" Homer asked Lenny, but Carl answered for him. Carl also worked and drank with Homer. They were like a second family to him.

"We are just here to catch a glimpse of Burns Manor. This is the closest we have ever been. Stupid dogs and Smithers always chase us away." Carl explained the many times they wanted to get one over on Burns.

"Yeah, I could never outrun his dogs. I think I'm the slowest person in our drinking group. So any more ideas of messing with Burns on his property, I will wait outside the gate." Lenny mentioned to the others.

"Like the time we tried to steal his precious stuffed animal bear. We almost got away with it, except for the stupid dogs. Ah, memories." Homer reminisced. "You guys remember that?"

"Not really Homer, I wasn't there." Carl said. "How about you Lenny?"

"Sorry Homer, I think you did that on your own. We stayed home when you asked us to break into Burns' mansion. I didn't want to get fired because of a teddy bear." Lenny laughed at the idea, that Burns would look for any reason to fire his employees. "Why did you try to steal it back? They had so many more at the store, and besides Maggie wouldn't know the difference."

"It was the principle of the thing." Homer could not think of anything to say. "I had to get it back. It was a Simpsons bear."

"We did go buy another one, and Maggie still carries it around with her. She doesn't know the difference." Marge added. "We went out right after you got back that night. You never told me you went to Burns Manor. I thought you said Moe's Tavern." Marge got a little upset, but it passed since this event was done and nothing could be changed.

"Hey Marge. Glad to see you here." Carl sounded surprised that Marge was standing behind Homer.

"Hey Marge. We know how much you hate Burns." Lenny sounded more surprised than Carl.

"Well..." Marge stuttered as she thought of a better reason. "I'm not here to see Burns, I'm here to cheer on Lisa."

"Aww, thanks Mom." Lisa thanked her for just being there against everything that she stood for. Marge didn't want to be there any more than Homer wanted to go to church the previous day.

"I just want to make sure this is legit. Too many times Burns has..." Marge started her same speech but everyone had already heard it.

"It is Burns. I work for him, but I still don't trust him." Lenny thought out loud. "One day soon we won't have to work for him. He is giving up the power plant. Hey Lisa, can you win this game?"

"Either you or Moe." Carl added. "Out of the six people, I would rather have you win. Probably not Moe, then he won't have time to run the bar, and we all need our second home after work."

"That is true. If Moe wins, maybe one of us could take over the tavern. We watch Moe run it everyday, it can't be that hard." Homer said to his bar buddies.

"I hope Moe wins just so you spend less time at the bar, but I hope my girl wins." Marge finished as Lisa started to get more excited as it was nearing noon.

"I'll be fine, I'm smart for my age. That's why I have all advanced classes at school and usually get bored, except for band practice when I play my saxophone." Lisa knew she was smart, and so did everyone else.

"Hey, I think I see something. It looks like a shriveled old man, and he is walking as slow as he can. I think he wanted us here at noon, so he would be at the gate by sunset." Bart joked with the family and everyone laughed, including Marge as her smile quickly faded as not to set a bad example for the kids.

Burns slowed walked to the front gate. The closer he got, the more anxious everyone became, and the slower it seemed he walked. He was one of Springfield's oldest citizens and it showed.

"I'm going to go get a donut until Burns makes it to the gate." Homer impatiently said. "Who wants to join me?"

"Dad! He is almost here, just be patient." Lisa waited as it was important to her, and to an extent, lesser important to everyone else. "I'm so excited. I wonder what we will be playing. I had a dream last night that I won."

"We know you will Lisa. You seem to win everything." Bart agreed sarcastically.

Burns had finally made it to the front gate and greeted his audience. "Good morning everyone. I'm glad to see everyone here as we welcome those lucky six people inside the gate. Now, if everyone will make a path for those people. We can get started." Burns looked through the crowd to see where the movements were.

"I'll see you all later!" Lisa yelled from a distance as she turned around and took a last look at her family. She made it to the front gate the same time as several others.

"Welcome all. If you all will follow..." Burns stopped and counted the number of people behind him. "One, two, three, four, five. I only count five. I thought I drew six names." Burns looked over at Smithers, who started walking up to help.

"Actually you drew seven names, the first one was a practice ball." Smithers laughed nervously. "I have the list of the six that were picked." He handed the list the Burns for a roll call.

"As I call your name, step forward. Ned Flanders." Burns announced as Ned walked forward. "Jeff Albertson." The Comic Book Guy stepped up to face Burns, and the crowd murmured, as they had just figured out who it was. "Lurleen Lumpkin." Burns read next and there was no movement. The crowd got silent as no one answered to that name. Burns read the name again with an ultimatum this time. "Last call for Lurleen Lumpkin."

A yell came from the crowd. "She left town again." Everyone turned to see where the voice came from, but it was gone. It made sense since no one answered to Burns' roll call.

"It appears that Lurleen Lumpkin can not play, so I have no other option but to draw another name." Burns sounded disappointed as this meant a slight delay. "Smithers fetch the lottery machine."

"Right away sir." Smithers turned around and walked into Burns Manor and emerged with the cage full of white lottery balls that were the center of attention yesterday.

"Let me make sure the others are actually here too." Burns sounded like this game was more hassle than what it was worth. "Moe Szyslak." As Moe approached the gate, a cheer came from the crowd.

"Go Moe!" Carl cheered.

"Can I have your tavern if you win?" Lenny asked in a loud voice to be heard at the front gate.

Homer was about to cheer but got a look from Marge that told him who he should be cheering for.

"Jasper Beardly and Lisa Simpson." Burns verified they were both there and a small smile crossed his face as something had gone right for once.

"Go Lisa!" The family shouted to show their support. Even Marge couldn't resist. It was her little girl.

"Only one name to draw. It seems this lottery drawing will never end." Burns approached the machine and reached in, and pulled out the next name. "And now another person has a chance to play in place of the town runaway, but this person better be here. I'm slowly growing impatient." One more quick look at the name and Burns announced: "Luann van Houten."

A small cheer came from the crowd as Luann made her way to the front gate. "I'm so excited. I almost thought I would have to cheer for one of you guys." Luann said slightly arrogantly. "And thank you Mr. Burns. I'm ready to play."

"Don't thank me, I just needed a sixth player. Now wave goodbye and let's go inside." Burns said in a voice only the six of them could hear.

They all waved to the crowd and then followed him toward the mansion. Smithers closed the gate and wheeled the lottery machine back inside. The doors closed and the crowd started to disperse.

"How will we find out what is going on?" Marge wondered as she lead the family back to the car.


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"Smithers, shut the door. I don't want anyone leaving my mansion. We have a game to play." Burns ordered as he continued to remind the participants that it was almost time to play.

"Right away, sir." Smithers obeyed the order given by his long time boss. The door shut with a loud click that echoed through the entryway and down the main hall. An eerie quiet came over everyone as this was it. There was no turning back. All they could do was follow Burns wherever he was taking them.

"Are you sure we can't leave a door open or at least unlocked? Maybe even a window." Lisa asked in a slightly worried voice. She had never been in Burns Manor without her family.

"You afraid something is going to happen? You sound just like Milhouse. He will not leave the house unless I tell him his shadow can not hurt him." Luann didn't seem to check her attitude at the door. Everyone had ignored her comment. Another eerie quiet fell in the hallway as no one really liked Luann's constant disdain for most of the residents of Springfield.

"He always leaves the house to come to my comic book store, the Android Dungeon. He is one of my best costumers, well him and all the rest of the kids." Comic Book Guy added to break the nervous tension that had come over everyone.

"Well, that's one place I won't let my Rod and Todd go. They have their Sunday church comics and that's good enough for them. I don't want them warping their minds with those devil stories." Ned Flanders tried to fit in with the rest of the crowd, but it did not work. They stopped walking a second and glanced over at Ned, until he turned his head and continued down the hallway.

"Maybe I should start hanging out there." Moe thought out loud.

"The church welcomes everyone. Come on down. I'll see you there on Sunday." Ned quickly answered, seeing the chance to welcome a new member to the congregation.

"Yeah, that too. I meant the comic book store." Moe nervously corrected himself, trying not to offend Ned.

"I haven't read a comic book since the early days of first editions. I remember when Radioactive Man issue #1 came out." Jasper reminisced. "I was a young boy and bought it with the money I made from my newspaper route. If only I still had that comic, I could sell it for a lot of money to one of you young kids."

"When I was a young boy, moving pictures and prohibition were popular, but the roaring '20s aside. Let's start our tour of my home, Burns Manor." He reminded everyone that he was much older, and less patient than they were. "Pay attention as this could also be yours, if you win."

"I thought we were only playing for the power plant." Lisa asked, but everyone else had the same thought.

"It was to be a surprise when you find out what all is included in the grand prize." Burns quietly said. "More than the power plant and more than you think."

They continued down the hallway a bit until Burns stopped them all and pointed to the left. "This is the grand dining room. It is only used during visits from heads of state, famous celebrities, and my mother." Burns cringed slightly when thinking about his mother visiting. She did not talk to him much, but it was a chore every time she did. "Smithers, when was the last time we used this dining room?"

"When was the last time we had a Springfield Republican Party meeting here instead of at the mansion of Rich Texan?" Smithers asked while Lisa scowled. Before she could make her comment about being of the opposite political party, Burns started to answer.

"Oh, it has been awhile. The next election is coming up soon, and I would like to host a last meeting being the chairman, however it may not be hosted here if the winner is not in our inner circle of political supremacy." Burns wanted the winner to continue his traditions but knew it might not work that way.

"Well, I think if it gets me in to the winning party of the election, I'm all for it." Moe added, as he needed a group of people to accept him into an exclusive club. "What about anyone else? Comic Guy? Lisa?"  
"I don't think it is right to discuss our political preferences here. We have other things to do." Luann said, but no one wanted to acknowledge her.

"My name is Comic Book Guy." He emphasized. "And I would have to think about it as I am already a member of the Federation, and do not wish to switch political parties at this time." Comic Book Guy finished as a few confused glances came his way.

"The Federation. Never heard of it and I been voting since Herbert Hoover was running for re-election." Jasper remembered his days as a youth in Springfield. "If only more people had voted for him, the war may have turned out differently."

"I wouldn't expect you to know what it is. I didn't see any of you at the last Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con. The Federation is by invite only to us Trekkies." Comic Book Guy showed his nerdy side and got the reaction he thought he would.

"You may be the best candidate for winning this game if you are in the nerd crowd. Your knowledge may help your chances." Burns said mysteriously as no one knew exactly what he meant by that statement. "Any one else have questions about the dining room?" Burns looked around to nods and started to walk further down the hall. "This way everyone and we will now go to the grand staircase."

"Is everything here grand, because this beats living like a normal person." Moe suggested as thoughts of grandeur filled his head.

"It is a mansion, so everything is referred to as grand." Smithers voiced his opinion of living in this mansion by being an assistant to Springfield's richest man for many years.

The group reached the grand staircase and stopped for a lecture from Mr. Burns. "This is the Grand Staircase. It is the staircase in the center of the mansion that divides my half from the assistant's half."

"I like my half of the mansion. I don't know how I ever got half of the mansion, but I'm not complaining." Smithers quickly covered his tracks to make sure he did not offend Burns.

"I would hope you aren't complaining or you can sleep in the doghouse outside with the hounds." Burns took the comment from Smithers personally for a second, then smiled rather weirdly. "Anyways, this staircase leads to the upstairs and to my bedroom, and to the famous elevated balcony. So if you all will follow me, I will lead you closer to your fate."

"As long as it is a good fate, that's alright with me. One good deed deserves another." Ned seemed optimistic that Burns giving away his power plant was a good deed, but Lisa was quick to disagree.

"I don't think this is a good deed. If that was the case, the six of us could choose to divide this six ways. We would all be home by dinnertime owning one-sixth of a power plant." Lisa had thought this to be the easiest answer, and the most fair.

"If it were that easy, you all would not be in my house, so up the stairs everyone. Every step upstairs is a step closer to winning." Burns joked, but no one laughed.

They all made it up the stairs and turned to the right and continued down another hallway. Burns led them to the grand bedroom followed by the lucky six, and trailed by Smithers. "You can join Burns at the head of the tour." Comic Book Guy mentioned to Smithers in a quiet voice. "It's not like anyone is going to fall into a chocolate river or turn into a giant blueberry." A small chuckle came from most of the group, except for Ned.

"I don't get it. Is that a reference to something. I've never heard Reverend Lovejoy talk about chocolate rivers so it must be made up." Ned questioned why he was the only one that didn't laugh.

"Don't worry Ned and Comic Book Guy, there is only one river inside the power plant and it glows neon green, so make sure you don't fall in. On we go." Burns led them into the grand bedroom and towards the balcony. He opened the double doors and walked out. "Care to join me for some fresh air?" Burns invited them all outside to remind them that the news crews and cameras were still there. "And if you look close enough, there is Kent Brockman who will interview the winner, and maybe the losers if he needs a news story bad enough." Burns walked back inside and gestured them toward the other side of the room. "Now if you will follow me, I have a surprise to show you."

They all turned around and followed Burns across the room to a closet door.

"I hope this bedroom has big walk-in closets. I need lots of room for the hundreds of shoes I own. And shelves, lots of shelves." Luann blurted out as she was the only one concerned about housing a shoe collection that covered every color of the visible spectrum.

"My shoe closet doesn't sound as impressive as yours." Smithers said but quickly retracted. "I mean, I have normal shoes like every guy has. Nothing special."

"It sounds like you are hiding something." Comic Book Guy spoke up. "You do own the largest Malibu Stacy doll collection in the city." He looked back at Smithers before finishing. "I collect comics, you collect dolls."

"And she collects shoes, and I collect war souvenirs. Does it matter what anyone collects?" Jasper jumped in to defend Smithers. "I'm sure he enjoys what he does."

"I collect shot glasses and beer steins. Does that count?" Moe tried to fit in to the conversation. "I am a bartender, so it made sense to collect items I can show off to my patrons."

Burns seemed annoyed that the conversation had gone this far. "Back to this door. It is not a walk-in closet, but I could use it as one. It is big enough for all eight of us. So in we go."

Everyone piled into the small space and Burns closed the door behind them. He reached to the side of the door and turned on a light.

"There is nothing in here." Lisa disappointingly said. "I thought we were getting closer to the end."

"We are. I just need to hit this other switch and we will almost be there." Burns said as he flipped the switch next to the light switch. The room jolted as it dropped. "This is my personal elevator to get me to and from the grand bedroom. You all didn't think I walk up and down the many stairs. I could not handle that on a daily basis."

"Where does this lead to? The main floor?" Ned nervously asked. "I don't like the thought of my final days going in the down direction. Every Sunday I pray about going up in the afterlife."

"It's just an elevator. I ride one all the time at the Senior Center." Jasper reassured the others.

"Does this mean we are getting closer to playing your game?" Lisa asked. She seemed to get more excited with every second.

"Oh yes. We are almost there." Burns said in a normal tone of voice. "Then I shall be able to sit and relax. The game is almost afoot."

"This is a long elevator ride." Moe suggested as the elevator stopped its vertical motion and now seemed to be moving horizontally. "Why does it feel like a train now, instead of an elevator."

"Because it is." Burns plainly said. "This is how I get to work. I ride this from the grand bedroom to the executive office of my power plant."

"Occasionally I drive Mr. Burns, but most days he is at his desk before I get there." Smithers said as everyone knew he was the assistant to Burns, but no one ever questioned what he actually did to help the elder statesman.

The elevator ascended a few seconds before coming to a stop long after anyone expected it would. Burns opened the door and the view of his elegant office was in view. "Now if everyone would please step out. I will show you my office as the last stop in the tour."

Everyone felt a little nervous and relieved as the tour had ended and it was game time.

"The big windows behind the desk are where I keep an eye on my precious power plant. I can see everything outside through here, to see everything inside I have this wall of security cameras. Which I shall use to watch the progress of the game." Burns grinned as he said this. "After all, it is for my enjoyment."

"Well, I'm used to someone watching my every move all hours of the day to make sure I don't do anything I shouldn't." Ned admitted but was contradicted by the others.

"We all have that watchful eye." Jasper started to explain. "It doesn't matter if it is the almighty, Santa Claus, or the orderly to make sure I take my pills."

"It is a game, and I intend to win." Luann confidently said.

"I can win too." Moe sheepishly said as Burns sat down at his desk.

"I'm sure all of you can win, or you wouldn't have shown up this morning. I will give you all advice. Remember, this is a game to see who is worthy enough to take over my power plant, my mansion, and my future. Good luck, you all will need it."

He pressed a button under the desk and another part of the wall opened to show a small room. Everyone looked inside and didn't see anything but three enclosing walls. "This is the game room, now everyone in. I will read the instructions upon entering and we will begin." Burns watched as the six participants walked across the office, entered the small room, and stood in the middle looking confused.

"I wish everyone good luck and..." Ned started but was interrupted.

"Well, I'm ready to win..." Luann continued but was also interrupted.

"Experience will pay off." Jasper thought out loud.

"Youth and skill too." Lisa added to Jasper's thought.

"I have experience in games. I play the adult versions." Comic Book Guy added.

"I'm just here. One chance in a million to own a power plant." Moe finished.

"Are you all done yet?" Burns asked. "But before I hit the button to close you all in." He turned and looked at Smithers. "Why are you just standing there Smithers."

"What should I be doing?" Smithers questioned his boss. "You want me to get you some tea to enjoy your afternoon with?"

Burns looked at him and simply said: "If you want your chance to play and win, I suggest you get in the room too, before I hit this button again." And with that Smithers walked in and stood next to the other six, as Burns pressed the button again to close the doors.


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

"We are all locked in here now, it seems. Glad I could join you." Smithers tried to break the ice, however his entrance into the room was not welcomed. "I didn't think I would get to play. My name was not picked but here I am."

"Did you take your name out of the lottery machine or is this part of Burns' plan." Lisa asked, as she was the first to form a question.

"This game still seems rigged." Moe said to the others and was disagreed with by Smithers. He walked over to stand next to Comic Book Guy and Luann.

"Why does it seem everyone is standing over there? I was given a choice and I took advantage of the opportunity." Smithers explained to everyone. "This wasn't part of the plan. I know you all don't believe that, but there are seven of us now."

"We will see about that. I've been waiting for the moment that you were selected." Jasper said as he took his place beside the others.

"It really doesn't matter. Now that we have seven players, it can't be a game with teams." Comic Book Guy said as the attention turned to him. "With six players we could have played a game with two teams, or even three teams. With the unwanted addition of Smithers, we have seven people. This is not a game that need teams, and Burns planned this despite what you say."

"Whether or not this was planned, it's too late now. Let's get ready for some fun." Ned wanted everyone to get along. "This can be a chance to get to know everyone..."

"That's enough already." A loud voice interrupted Ned. "This isn't a team building experience. It's a death match to win a nuclear power plant." Burns reminded them. "I have never ran this power plant with a team. There is one leader and countless minions." Everyone now turned and faced the loudspeaker that projected Burns' voice through the room. "Welcome to my game. Now that we have the seven of you locked in my special game room, let the game begin. I shall push another button to get this started."

A table emerged from the floor of the secret room, and on it were seven MyPads. Everyone stood still as the table rose and locked into place. Lisa cautiously approached it as Luann and Comic Book Guy followed close behind.

"As you can see, this room is more than it seems. I have a desk top full of different buttons which I can use to do many wonderful and amazing things. This loudspeaker I hooked up works well too." Burns continued to brag about his setup for the game. "There are seven MyPads on the table before you. Everyone needs to grab one."

Everyone approached the table as more mechanical noises were heard. The back wall sank into the floor revealing seven capsules. There were many blank looks as it looked too advanced for the ancient power plant.

"Seven MyPads. Seven Capsules. This was planned for Smithers to play all along." Complained Lisa. "My mother was right, you can't be trusted."

"But you still showed up, and besides he will need to win the game and prove himself to me like the rest of you will." The loudspeaker answered. "He is a good assistant, but I don't know about his business skills. I shall watch and find out."

"Thank you sir. It will be an..." Smithers started before the deafening speaker talked over him.

"Don't be foolish. If you lose, the same fate will occur to you as anyone else." Burns warned Smithers. "Being an assistant and being a businessman are two different things. Do not confuse them or mix them together. Now if everyone has their tablet in hand, get in to the capsules and we shall begin."

"Last time I got into something like this was the Trekkie convention, but this is different. There are women here this time." Comic Book Guy joked as Ned and Moe appeared hesitant to approach the capsules.

"I promise the capsules won't hurt a bit. Just get inside and the fun will begin." Burns promised through the loudspeaker.

They all did what they were told to do and entered the capsules. The lights dimmed down, a loud humming noise was heard, and after a bright flash of light, the capsules were empty.

"What happened?" Lisa asked to the rest of the participants. "Is everyone here?" She sounded worried as did everyone who answered her.

"I think so. What was that?" Moe rhetorically asked. One by one the others started to calm down.

"I'm here. If my old body can take it, whatever that was, everyone else should be good." Jasper stated, knowing his body may not take another jolt like that.

"This could be the game. We may be finally playing the game. I hope so, because it's about time to beat you all and claim my prize." This caused some glares toward Luann and her constant arrogance. "Let's get started already."

"Everyone settle down. This is like my greatest dream. Those capsules we got into were like transporters and the flash of light was us being teleported to here." Comic Book Guy said as he put his science fiction knowledge into a real application. "It appears that Burns has invented a working transporter hundreds of years before the Starfleet did."

"I didn't know that Burns was working on any technology like that, but there seems to be many secret rooms in the mansion." Smithers explained. "Might be fun to explore if anyone needs a knowledgable assistant."

"So anyone figured out where we are yet? I don't like the look of this. We disappeared after a bright flash of light..." Ned worried, but a loud voice trumped his.

"You all have made it in one piece. It is good we didn't lose anyone through the transporter." Burns stated over the loudspeaker. "I should have tested it out, but I had to keep all my inventions secret."

"So that's where you have disappeared to every night." Smithers said as this made more sense to him.

"He actually built this? So where are we then." Lisa asked trying to find out what else Burns had built.

"Welcome to my world. I have designed and built this experience for you all to test your intelligence." The loudspeaker said again. It made more sense to everyone the more Burns explained. "This is where my game will be played. I hope everyone hung onto their MyPads. Those will be very important along the way."

"This is like every episode of Star Trek I have ever seen. The crew steps onto the transporter and are sent to another planet." Comic Book Guy compared what was happening to what he had seen on television. "I wish I had worn my costume. Alas, this is as close as I will ever get to being beamed up."

"Enough with your references. I came up with these ideas long before the television show. They were thought of by me, but Professor Frink actually did all the work." Burns laughed as he admitted this fact. "Any other science fiction you want to see, I'll have him invent it."

"No more references Comic Guy, I want to hear Burns get the game started. We have wasted enough time." Luann jumped in again with her attitude toward everyone.

"It's hard to start a game you don't even know..." Lisa started, but could not finish as everyone became quiet and listened in the distance.

The noise started as a small rumbling and grew louder until three or four loud booms were heard in the distance followed by the ground shaking. After a few seconds, everything was still and silent. No one wanted to say a word not knowing what had just happened.

"I've heard noises like that back in the days of the great war. It was in the distance so we are safe." Jasper tried to calm everyone again, but fear of the unknown was starting to show.

"I've never been in a war, but it seems there may be one in the distance." Moe nervously stared toward the horizon, but could see nothing.

"Do not be alarmed." The loud-speaker reassured them. "That was just another test. Many things are still untested as my quick game against Professor Frink could not play out all the possibilities. I came out victorious as Frink's luck ran out. He was a good test subject." Burns said snidely.

"That's twice you have mentioned the Professor. Where is he now? I never saw him enter or leave the manor." Smithers asked because he should already know the answer.

"The first person who loses will get to see where he is." Burns made this promise to everyone just to see if he could frighten them. "Now if everyone is ready, we shall start this event. Now to decide who goes first."

"First? I thought we were all playing." Luann wanted to start playing and had no more patience.

"Youngest goes first. Or that's how we play in the Simpson house." Lisa confidently said.

"I think the oldest should." Jasper countered.

"I shall decide this." The loud-speaker had the final say in this matter. "I shall use the order in which your names were drawn."

"That means me." Ned remembered. "Alright, what do I do?" He then looked confused as no one knew what they were even playing yet.

They all looked around and saw nothing before them until their eyes reached the horizon. "I guess I forgot to start the game. I think it was the blue button, or did he say the white button that says 'Start'. That must be it. Let me try that one." As Burns pressed the button, colors started to appear first in the background and then closer to everyone. Once the colors filled the landscape, a new sense of brightness filled the air.

"This looks promising, compared to the dull world from a minute ago." Ned thought. "I still don't see what I'm supposed to do."

"It's like the start of a book series, where the world grew around the people. Is that a lion in the distance? Let's follow it." Lisa happily said as she started to walk toward a shape at the horizon.

"We should follow Lisa." Comic Book Guy said. "Her and I believe in science and fiction. It may be part of the game, and besides it says 'Go' on the ground."

"With an arrow pointing that direction." Moe pointed out to the rest that stood watching. "It could be a sign..."

"Ow, that hurt." Lisa yelped as her walking away had stopped. She tried again but could not progress any further. "There is something here."

"This may be more fun than I thought." Burns sarcastically said through the loud-speaker. "I think now I can hit the blue button, and the game should play itself now."

"The MyPad turned on!" Ned exclaimed. The attention turned to him as he was the first to play.

"What does it say?" Luann started to walk back toward Ned, but he read what his screen said.

"Boot, Dog, Thimble, Iron, Cannon, Wheelbarrow, Racecar, Top hat, or Battleship." Ned looked slightly confused as ever. He looked at everyone just as a voice yelled from a distance.

"I've got it." Comic Book guy said as he and Lisa started walking back toward the rest of the group. "Over here. The word 'Go". The random items Ned just named off. They all go together. Those are the pieces used in a..."

"That is correct. A Monopoly game." Burns finished his sentence.

"Are we in the game?" Lisa quietly asked.

"Yes. I designed this game. You are all standing on the starting square labeled Go. You tried to leave the square before it was your turn and the invisible barricade stopped you." Burns explained as Lisa gasped. "I had to devise a way to keep anyone from cheating."

"Now everything makes more sense." Smithers started to think of all the reasons he could. "I have to prove myself as a businessman, the long hours I could never find you, and now this world we are in. What were the loud noises earlier?"

"Dice." Comic Book Guy said as calmly as anyone could at this moment. The shock of being in a life-size board game took a minute to comprehend. "We move around the board by rolling dice. Let's just try not to get ran over by them." He tried to chuckle but no one thought it was funny.

"Now that you all figured it out. We need to select pieces and we can get rolling." Burns laughed at his own joke. "Ned, you are first. Make your choice."

"I'll pick the Iron, because I love a freshly pressed shirt." Ned pressed the Iron button on the screen and a silver iron appeared next to him.

Comic Book Guy look surprised the game was more interactive than he first thought. "My name was picked second, so I shall pick the Wheelbarrow." He pressed wheelbarrow and it appeared. "Maybe after the game, I can use this wheelbarrow for the special at Taco Hut. One hundred tacos for one hundred dollars."

"I'm next." Luann spoke up quickly knowing there would be an argument since she was chosen to replace Lurleen. "Dog. Since we got the dog, Milhouse has had a friend." She laughed as she said this. No matter how true it was, it was still funny to her.

"My turn. I would look good in a top hat." Moe said, then realized his mistake. "This idea might not work as heavy as it is." The top hat appeared but was meant to be ridden in and not worn. "Oh well, I still have a top hat." Moe said disappointed.

"Only three of us left and it's my turn." Jasper pointed out. "And I pick the battleship. Reminds me of the good ole days of the great war."

"War is not always a good thing, but I'm too young to remember any wars." Lisa told Jasper as she pondered the remaining choices. "I'm too young for most things, but not this racecar. This will be fun."

"Lastly is me." Smithers said as the loud-speaker interrupted him.

"Unless you changed your mind." Burns asked his assistant.

"No. I will show you I can run your power plant. I pick the thimble." Smithers triumphantly said.

"Is that to sew your doll dress collection with?" Luann asked in a mean tone of voice.

"Maybe it is. There weren't many pieces left." Smithers said sadly. "Can I change my piece."

"No you can't change it." Burns groaned. "Now that is finished. Here is fifteen hundred dollars and good luck. There are many surprises in store, so pay attention. Any last questions?" A momentary silence fell before Burns continued. "Very well then. First to roll is Ned Flanders."

"Okilly-dokilly!" As Ned pressed the roll icon on his screen several loud booms were heard. "Six. I guess I'll see you all later."

The iron sped away with Ned perched on top.


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

"I soon have to be there. I have ridden this iron for at least a few minutes." As Ned finished his thought the iron started to slow down in front of a cross street lined with shops. A great arch entry way showed where the beginning of the street started and a far away multilevel building showed the end.

An animation on his MyPad started to show him moving the six spaces for the dice he had rolled, and it counted out loud to show him what he had passed and where he was sitting. "You have arrived at Oriental Avenue." A computerized voice announced to him.

He looked up at the light blue street sign that pointed down the street. It also read Oriental Avenue. "This must be the correct place. I wonder what I need to do now. This game can't possibly be played just sitting here, so I think I will go explore." Ned dismounted from his iron and started to walk toward the shops. "If there is anywhere I can't go, I guess I will hit one of those invisible walls."

The closer he got to the beginning of the shops he noticed the big towering arch that stretched across the entrance to the street. He stopped and looked up at it. Sprawled across the arch was also written Oriental Avenue, with a banner below saying: "For Sale, Inquiry Within".

"It appears this street is for sale. I wonder who owns it, and why they are selling it. It looks so quaint and cozy." Ned looked down the street and began walking again to see what else he could find.

He passed a few street vendors and fruit stands before stopping at a small shop selling flowers. Lilies and orchids caught his eye. They were an odd shade of blue he had never seen before. "How did you get the flowers that wonderful shade of light blue." Ned asked the flower vendor.

"I didn't." Replied the vendor. "They always grow that color. No matter what I try to do different, the flowers always turn that color. I have got used to seeing that light blue I even named it. I call it Oriental Blue." She reached under the table and pulled out a light blue rose and handed it to Ned. "I'll give you this if you can answer me a question."

"I can do that, as long as I know the answer." Ned looked at the flower and then back at the vendor. He was curious about a lot of things that were happening and her question did not help.

"How did you get here?" Asked the vendor until she interrupted herself. "I mean I guess I should introduce myself before I ask anymore questions or favors." Ned started to get worried that he didn't know why he was there or what anyone was going to ask of him. "You will have to excuse all of us, as you are the first new person we have had down our street since that crazy guy a few weeks back."

"Well, I'm certainly not crazy. Just crazy about your blue rose. So what was your name?" Ned tried to lighten the mood hoping to find out more information.

"They call me Rose." As she held the flower in front of Ned. "What is your name new guy?"

"Ned Flanders and I arrived here on the iron parked at the end of the street."

Ned's hand slowly reached for the rose as she dropped it into his hand. "You look disappointed."

"It's nothing, really. I was just hoping for more answers. But if you don't have any now it won't help." Rose looked solemn because Ned seemed to have less information than she did.

Ned looked awkwardly at the rose for a moment before asking a few questions. "So what is this place and why is it for sale?"

"I just sell roses on this street and live in my apartment above the shop. So I haven't ventured off of this street, ever." Rose looked confused before continuing. "Every time I walk down to the main road and turn left to try to leave, it's like a barrier prevents me from leaving. And not just me, all the people who live on this street."

"What does your MyPad tell you about where you are?" Ned asked but got a blank look in return. "I assume that means you don't have one. It's this thing." As he held up his, Rose continued to stare at him.

"I don't know what that is, or how you got here. You seem just like the crazy guy. And if my memory is correct our mayor helped the crazy guy, but we never saw him again." She thought deep for a moment. "In fact, I think he bought this street while he was here, but now it's for sale again. Seems kinda strange."

None of this really made sense to Ned, but he hoped talking to the mayor may help clarify his situation. "Where is the mayor or better yet, who is your mayor, and can they help me?" Ned asked questions so fast Rose had to interrupt him to calm him down.

"Like I said, I just sell flowers and live upstairs. Our mayor can better help you. Her name is Gloria and she lives in the apartment above the toy store. Go find her." Rose finished and walked back into her shop to rearrange the rest of the light blue flowers.

"Thanks for the rose, Rose." Ned yelled into the shop as he turned and continued to walk down the street.

After passing a few more shops he seemed to be most of way down the street and could not see any other side streets or alleys. The fronts of shops formed a solid wall on both sides, and the only way to walk was forward toward the end or turn around and walk back to the iron.

Ned stopped and saw the large shop on his left. The large sign above the door read "Toys L Us". "This must be the toy store. It seems awfully familiar." A feeling of uneasiness hit Ned as he approached the front door and walked in.

As he entered the toy store, it was full of aisles of brand new toys. All appeared to still be in the original packages. The further in he walked he kept seeing random toys in that weird shade of blue that matched the street sign and the rose he now carried in his shirt pocket.

"Hello." He called and it echoed through the store. "Is there anyone here?" He added and heard it echo louder. He waited for a response but did not receive one.

Ned tried again but no one was inside the store to greet him. "Well, Rose said that the mayor lived above the toy store so maybe I should find some stairs to get to her apartment."

He continued to walk through the store and passed many the displays of toys all the same shade of blue he now liked the more he saw it. "I was sent here by Rose." He tried adding to see if that would earn him a response. It did not.

He made it to the back of the store and found a set of stairs that lead up. One step at a time he became nervous to what lay ahead. "I'm walking up the stairs." He announced, but still received no answer.

When Ned arrived at the top of the stairs there was a lobby with a table and four chairs. They looked like they had never been sat in. He passed those to find a door labeled: Mayor. He knocked and waited, but no one answered. He tried again and said: "Is this the apartment of the Mayor? Rose sent me here to talk to you about this street being for sale, and to gain information about what is happening." Ned finished and still received no response.

"This is frustrating. I guess she isn't home." One more knock at the door confirmed that she was not home. "Maybe I'll try talking to Rose again." He said as he checked to see that the light blue rose was still firmly inside his shirt pocket.

Back down the stairs to the main floor of the toy store and out the front door Ned went, and just as the front door opened a woman approached him from down the street. She appeared out of breath as she ran the last few yards. "You... must be... looking for... me..." She breathed out a few words at a time. "Let me catch my breath a second."

"Are you the mayor?" Ned asked as he tried to remember the name. "Are you Gloria?" He finished his thought as she started to answer.

"I am Gloria. Gloria Jailbird. I also happen to be the mayor of this street. Welcome to Oriental Avenue if you have not been welcomed yet." The mayor ensured that Ned was properly welcomed, even if he couldn't figure out why. "So, what brings you to our wonderful street."

"Honestly I don't really know. I do know the MyPad told me I rolled a six, and then the iron drove me here." Ned tried to form his answer so it didn't sound as weird as it did to Rose. "Does that make any sense? You don't look as confused as Rose."

"So, it has started again. The rumors were true. That crazy guy might be telling the truth." Gloria said mainly to herself, but loud enough the Ned could also hear what she was thinking.

"You know about this game? I seem to have all the questions while you have some answers." Ned asked and then waited as Gloria thought of the best way to answer him.

"I do know what is going on. You and I are the only ones on this street that have any idea. I am late getting back to my street. There was an emergency city meeting for all the mayors to attend." Gloria started to explain and caught Ned's attention. "We had heard rumors of this game starting again, and this time the game is bigger than last time. The crazy guy who came through here last time started a big commotion that caught the ears of many people that another game was starting."

"Who is this crazy guy?" Ned interrupted as she was the second person to mention it.

"I don't really know. I only saw him once, he bought this street, and he was never heard from again. At least not here." Gloria continued. "None of the other residents here know there is a game going on..."

Ned interrupted her again. "I saw that talking to Rose. She didn't seem to understand what I needed."

"None of them will. It is better to keep the idea of a game bigger than them to yourself, so that they won't affect your ability to play." Gloria finished this thought as Ned continued to ask more questions. He had finally found the mayor and this was his chance to gain an advantage finding out everything he could.

"It seems there is so much more that I need to find out. How much more do you know about this game?" Ned proceeded to ask more questions, but finally hit a roadblock.

"I only know what happens on our street, and do not know anything outside of our light blue themed avenue." Gloria went on for another minute with any information that may help Ned. "This is Oriental Avenue, as you have probably already seen. Our color scheme here seems to be this light blue shade that appears everywhere. It had went away once, but came back a little while ago. That's when the rumors started about another game being played, but the residents don't know what that means." She paused for a second to gather her thoughts and determined what else might be useful. "As you can see our street is for sale. That banner just appeared between the time I left for the meeting and when I returned."

"I saw that on the way in, it was hanging on the archway." Ned stopped for a second. "That arch looks really familiar. I have seen that before. I think it was in Springfield's Chinatown district, but I don't think I'm in Springfield anymore. At least I can't tell if I am or not."

"Springfield? Chinatown? Where are those? I have been all around this city and have never seen that." Gloria explained. "I have gone for a long walk around the entire city and can tell you every place, but those don't exist."

"They do exist where I come from." Ned replied.

"And where is that?" Gloria countered.

"It is a long story that doesn't even make sense to me." Ned stopped at this and rethought how to ask Gloria any more questions that actually make sense to her. "I don't think it is worth explaining."

Gloria looked confused but shrugged it off. To keep the conversation moving in a positive direction she offered information to Ned that he would need. "You still interested in buying this street? Follow me and I'll lead you to your destination."

"I think after all of this, I should buy it and see what happens." Ned thought as they continued to walk down the street.

"If you choose to buy this street, there are two more streets that are cast in this shade of light blue. The residents of those streets would probably be happy to have you own their land also." Gloria explained as best she could. "There is also rumors that if you buy their land also great things can happen."

This got Ned's attention. "Such as...?"

"I do not know as the last time this game was played nothing happened after the crazy guy bought our street. Then I assumed the game was over when the street faded from light blue back to gray. Down the end of the street is what you are looking for. There is one in every area. You must seek them out." Gloria stopped walked as she finished talking.

Ned stopped too and turned back to face Gloria. "One of what?" He asked.

"One of the game statues. Ours is kept inside Bob's Big Buddha at the end of the street. Just approach it, you will figure it out." And with that Gloria parted ways with Ned.

"I guess it is worth a look." Ned thought to himself as he walked the last few yards to the multilevel building he had seen from his iron. He continued up the steps and walked inside.

It seemed different on the interior compared to the exterior. Outside it was a large five-story pagoda. Inside it was a very small room with a stone statue in the shape of Mr. Burns with his arms outstretched in front of him.

The MyPad started to glow as Ned approached the statue. He thought for a second and placed the MyPad in the hands of the Burns statue. A holographic Burns then appeared beside him.

"Greetings." said the hologram Burns. "You have found me in Oriental Avenue. Welcome to Bob's Big Buddha. As you saw on the way in, the street is for sale and you can own it for the low-cost of one hundred dollars."

"That seems fairly cheap for this street. I really like this shade of blue." Ned replied to the hologram, but he did not think it would answer.

"One hundred dollars buys you Oriental Avenue. Anyone else visiting here will owe you six dollars. Just think of it as an entrance fee." The holographic Burns continued as it was preprogrammed to do. "So what is your decision?"

The MyPad now had a screen that had a green Buy button and a red Decline button. "It seems I have to make a choice. One hundred dollars seems cheap enough for me."

Ned reached up and pressed the green button. The screen went blank and the holographic Burns disappeared. "I thought something would actually happen..." and as he said that two pieces of paper started printing from below the hands of the Burns statue. Ned grabbed both of them.

The first one said: Title Deed for Oriental Avenue printed on that wonderful shade of light blue paper. The other said: Receipt of sale and listed his fifteen hundred dollars to start minus the one hundred he had just spent. "Fourteen hundred dollars left. This game just started and I have already spent a small percentage of my money. I have to spend money to make money." He pocketed both the receipt and the title-deed and left the pagoda.

The street now appeared to be empty as he started to walk back towards the iron. "Maybe I'll let Rose know that I bought her street."

He passed Toys L Us and saw the flower shop, but it was closed up for the day. "I guess she is done selling flowers for now. I have her rose, I'll keep it right here to look at." He passed the shop and found his way back to his iron.

He looked up at the archway and noticed the For Sale banner had been removed. "I wonder what I do now. I own this street, but I probably can't go anywhere until it is my turn again."

Ned sat on his iron for a second then stood back up. "I could see what other information I can find out since I have some time." He pulled the title-deed from his pocket and looked at it again. "I owe this street, maybe I'll go see what one hundred dollars gets me."

He started to walk back toward the entry arch and back to his favorite light blue colored street as he heard a couple loud booms in the distance.

"I guess my turn is over." Ned said out loud and walked through the arch.


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

"It appears that it is my turn." Comic Book Guy interrupted the others as he noticed the MyPad light up and display the roll icon. He pressed it and several loud booms were heard.

"Are we going to hear that every time someone rolls?" Luann disgustedly said.

"It may be helpful to know when others are taking their turn." Lisa said in Luann's direction, but meant her statement for the group.

"Hopefully Ned will hear that to know that we are continuing to play." Smithers added and tried to sound cheerful.

The display showed a three and Comic Book Guy realized it was time to leave the group. "I bid thee farewell for now." He jumped into the wheelbarrow and it started to glide away.

After a few seconds he turned around to see the small outlines of his competitors fade into the horizon. "All alone again. This is my life. But I get to play a life-size board game, so my life could be worse." Comic Book Guy stopped at that word not knowing how much worse Burns could make this game.

The wheelbarrow slowed down after a shorter ride than Ned had. This time in front of a dirt road. "What is this? It's just a dirt road. I have the worst luck."

The MyPad showed the three spaces he had ridden in the wheelbarrow, and the computerized voice announced: "You have arrived at Baltic Avenue." Then the display was gone.

"It appears I am at the intersection of this dirt road called Baltic Avenue. Thank you MyPad." Comic Book Guy replied sarcastically. He looked at the blank screen. "Are you going to tell me what I need to do now?" There was no response. "Answer me futuristic piece of innovative..."

"You will have to figure that out on your own. Please feel free to exit your wheelbarrow." The MyPad answered, then went blank again.

A look of shock crossed his face as he was not expecting that for an answer. He proceeded to follow the instruction and was standing beside the wheelbarrow looking down the dirt road and could not see very much.

"I wonder if I had to worry about where this thing is parked." Comic Book Guy thought and he attempted to pick up the handles to move it further off of the main road. "Can't... lift... it..." He breathed out as he tried and made no progress.

"So much for taking this thing to Taco Hut later." He sighed as he started to think what he needed to do. "Baltic Avenue. Population: one." He said out loud as he read the dark purple sign that was posted at the entrance to the dirt road. "One person. This may be like finding a needle in a haystack." He commented as he saw a haystack further ahead next to the dirt road.

As he passed the sign, the road changed to dirt and he took in the scenery. "There appears to be a farmhouse on each side of the road and a river at the end. It shouldn't be too difficult to find the one." He laughed to himself as he took a another few steps and debated which house to visit first.

The house on the right was a small wooden shack that appeared to be big enough for one room. There was a small front porch with nothing on it, and a huge field of crops behind the house that ran from the main road down to the trees next to the river. "This house looks too small." He thought as his eyes focused across to the other option.

The house on the left was a larger and much older farmhouse with a long winding dirt pathway leading from the main dirt road up to the front door. There was also a small side building and many silos behind the house. Beyond that were flat fields are far as he could see. "This house looks too big, but it looks more livable." He hesitated for a second then decided his better chance of finding someone would be at the larger farmhouse.

He turned to his left and continued up the main road until he reached the start of the dirt pathway for the larger farmhouse. It started to slope uphill slightly and he made it about a third of the way when he could start to see details of the house. "It looks abandoned and in bad shape." He admitted as he noticed the front door had a board across it. "The side house looks abandoned too." The closer he got, he could not find any signs of life. "The silos look empty and so do the fields. I think I guessed wrong. But maybe it is worth a look."

He continued up the path until he was halfway between the dirt road and his destination. He turned to look down towards the river when his progress was suddenly stopped with a loud thud...

"Ouch!" Comic Book Guy screamed out. "What is this?" He tried to walk forward again and could not. He pushed with his arms and felt a wall in front of him. "Another one. This seems like the one at the start of the game." He followed it off of the dirt path for a second when a loud beeping stopped him.

"Path is not currently accessible and is reserved for future expansion. You currently own zero of the two required properties to continue along this path." The MyPad had awakened and relayed this announcement.

"Future expansion and owning two properties? It must mean something. Maybe the other farm-house can give me some information." He was disappointed and walked back down the dirt path he traveled up and crossed the dirt avenue and came to the front of the other farm-house.

"If I can't travel to that farmhouse, does that mean the same for this one?" He thought to himself as he approached the front door. He knocked twice hoping someone would answer but he was out of luck there too. The next option was to look through the windows but the interior curtains were closed. "Two houses and no one to be found. Maybe the river?" He questioned as he started to walk back to the dirt road, he noticed a sign this time looking around.

"This sign matches the color of the population sign." The comparison was correct as it was the same shade of dark purple as the grim population one was.

"For sale. Inquiry within." It read and this intrigued him. "Why is the farm owned by one person on a dirt road for sale?" He tried to use logic but nothing made sense. "It is a dirt road with a river, a farm that is not reachable, and a farmhouse too small for..."

A noise in the field behind the smaller house caught his attention. "That must be the one. I have found them." He stared at the tall crops and waited because any second someone would emerge from them. "I should be cautious as I don't know who it is. It could be friend or foe. I don't know."

Many more seconds passed of crops rustling before a woman stepped out from between the plants.

"A woman. She couldn't be harmful. Maybe she can tell me what I seek." Comic Book Guy seemed delighted that he found the one, but more so that the one was a woman.

He walked back toward the house as the woman disappeared behind it. He turned the corner just as she sat on a rocking chair and sighed. A glass of water was sitting on a side table and she took a drink of it before starting the conversation. "One out of eighteen." She said.

"So there are seventeen more people here?" Comic Book Guy questioned. "The sign said population: one."

"No, one out of eighteen." She replied.

"I don't get it." He countered looking very confused.

The woman laughed as she repeated. "One out of eighteen. That was the chance that anyone had of stopping here to start the game."

"You know of the game. Oh, thank you. Then maybe you can tell me more information. Because I thought this was a game, but now I am on your dirt road with no game in sight." He explained as politely as he could.

"I know plenty about the game. Pull up a chair and I'll answer any questions you have." She seemed to be helpful and Comic Book Guy seemed more relaxed. "You want something to drink? You will need it. It is going to be a long game."

He thought for a second about what he was going ask about the game and didn't hear the question about the drink. He was too excited to worry about anything not related to the game. "There are so many questions I want to ask, where do I start?"

"You could start by asking my name to be polite, and if we run into each other again." She mentioned to start the question and answer session with an easy question.

"I can do that. What is your name? Mine is Jeff Albertson, but everyone calls me Comic Book Guy." He admitted to her. Not many people knew his real name.

"I am Brandine Del Roy, and it is a pleasure to meet someone new on my property. You are the first person I have seen come around here." She said in a sweet voice.

"No one came here last game?" Comic Book Guy started with more questions. "Did you know there was a last time, and how do you know about this time? Is your farm really for sale, and can I buy it, and how much is..."

"Slow down. There is plenty of time to answer your questions." She interrupted him and tried to calm him down. "The game does not progress until your turn is over. No matter how long that takes."

Comic Book Guy stared intently while comprehending what she was saying. "Since there is no time limit, we can sit here and talk."

"We could. Let me answer your questions by a small story." She paused and then stood up. "It may take a while. You want some iced tea? Just brewed it before I left."

"I will have a glass." He smiled as he said it and a minute later Brandine returned with two tall glasses of iced tea which she set on the table beside her chair.

"I guess I could start from the beginning, or at least as far back when everything changed." She took a sip from her glass and began her story. "I have always lived here in this farmhouse and everything was fine until recently. I'd say a couple of weeks ago. The sign out front used to say Rural Route Nine on it until one day it changed to a dark purple color and said Baltic Avenue. It stayed like that for about a day or two, then changed back to Rural Route Nine."

She took another sip and Comic Book Guy started to open his mouth to ask a question when Brandine held up one finger signaling him not to sidetrack her story.

"Even during that time everything seemed normal, then the sign changed back and I didn't think anything of it. One day I got this letter in the mail saying that I could be a mayor of my street if I attended this meeting. I knew nobody lived across the street in the other house, so it could only be me."

She paused again as she thought of what to say next when there seemed to be enough time that Comic Book Guy jumped in. "I tried to walk up to the farmhouse across the way, but I couldn't. It was like..."

"A glass wall stopped you. Same thing happened to me." She concluded as he pulled out the MyPad to show her.

"When I hit the glass wall this said it was reserved for future expansion." He waited for it to light up and it never did. "Well at least that what it said earlier."

"Future expansion? What else are they going to build here?" She worried as the dirt road was quiet with no neighbors and no other accessible houses.

"I'm not exactly sure but you said earlier you knew this was a game." He guided the conversation back to the main point.

"Oh yeah, where was I? The city meeting. So one day I got a letter in the mail saying I could be the mayor of Rural Route Nine. I attended the meeting. People from all parts of the city were there, and we all sat in the big conference room while the head of the city talked. I don't remember his name. I think it was Moneybags." She paused again as she tried to remember more details.

"Was anyone named Burns there? Or any other names you can remember?" He was trying hard to gain any information he could use.

"No one named Burns. I don't remember many of the names. Apparently they split us up by color. I was in the dark purple group along with a guy called The Sea Captain. He lives up the road on the lake. He owns a houseboat, but he can't move it away from the dock."

Comic Book Guy absorbed all this information. "I'll have to remember about the sea-captain and try to find him."

"There is one more weird thing I have found. Just saw it a bit ago. Want to come see it?" Brandine offered. "It is right back here in the tomacco field."

"It may be important if you just found it and have lived here all of your life." Comic Book Guy felt that he had a little more information than when he first arrived at the lonely dirt road. He took a sip of his iced tea and stood up and followed Brandine toward the tomacco plants.

She led the way in between the tall plants and wondered around for a second. "You still back there Comic Man?"

"It is Comic Book Guy, but you can call me Jeff. I'm here and I'll just follow your sweet voice." He plowed his way through the tall plants when he caught up to Brandine inside of a small crop circle that was cleared of plants.

"Something caused this. My plants have been cut off right to the ground and this statue placed here. It doesn't do anything. Just keeps the crows away." She didn't know what else to tell him.

"Burns. This statue is what Burns looks like. You sure you didn't see anyone at that meeting that looked like this." He turned and watched her as she thought, and to see if the light bulb turned on.

She hesitated a second then replied. "I don't think so. There were too many people there. I talked to the sea-captain most of the time. You should try to find him. Maybe we could walk down by the river and look."

"Definitely, right after this." He said as he searched the Burns statue. "I found it."

"Found what?" Brandine questioned.

"What this statue does. It appears to have a connection in his hands that connects to the MyPad." Comic Book Guy explained as he placed the MyPad into Burns' hands.

A holographic Burns instantly appeared beside Brandine and startled her as she jumped behind Comic Book Guy. "Scared me. Is that supposed to happen?"

"I'm not quite sure. Let's assume so." He reassured her.

"Greetings and welcome to Baltic Avenue. This dirt road is for sale and it can be yours for only sixty dollars." The hologram spoke as Brandine listened more intently.

"You gonna buy it? That seems cheap." She asked.

"It did tell me earlier that I owned zero out of two properties to be able to explore the other farm. I should buy it and see what happens." He said as she finished a thought they both had.

"The Sea Captain must have the other of the dark purple." Brandine added.

Comic Book Guy faced the statue again and listened. "The rent fee for any visitors will be four dollars. What is your decision?"

"You should buy it before anyone else does." She encouraged.

"I'll take it." He pressed the Buy button and the hologram disappeared.

They stood there waiting for something extraordinary to happen, but looked at each other in slight disbelief when only two pieces of paper printed. She grabbed one and he grabbed the other.

"Mine says Receipt of Sale and you have fourteen hundred forty dollars left. Wow, you're rich." Brandine was surprised not knowing it wasn't real money.

"Title-deed to Baltic Avenue." He read. "And it's not real money. Burns gave us all the same amount to start."

"Don't spend it all too quickly." She said as they both shared a laugh. They looked at each other for a second when loud booms echoed across the sky.

"Fireworks?" Brandine asked.

"Dice." Comic Book Guy replied. "You want to walk down to the river?"

"I'd be delighted." She answered and they left the tomacco field and turned toward the river. "Hey, that For Sale sign is gone. Wonder who took it?"

"I don't know. This whole place seems weird. But I have time now to spend with you down by the river since my turn is over."


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

"This is taking longer than last time." Luann grew impatient waiting for her turn. "Comic Book Guy needs to hurry up."

"I'm sure he will be finished soon enough, and besides you don't even know what they are going through. None of us do." Lisa explained trying to calm down Luann.

Before Luann could come up with another remark to keep the argument going, Moe noticed something very important. "Hey Luann, your hand is glowing."

"What do you mean my hand is glowing?" Luann questioned in her arrogant tone the others have grown accustomed to hearing.

"It is glowing, like so many of our power plant employees." Smithers joked as Lisa did not think it was as funny.

"I don't think that's true, or at least I hope it is not true. My Dad works there and I don't want to receive any second-hand radiation." Lisa worried.

"I had the lights go out at my bar, and all the workers glowed a nice neon green color. Then Barney turned the lights back on and they stopped." Moe added to gain the attention toward him.

"I'll never go to that bar." Luann scoffed as she looked at the glowing MyPad. "Anyways it's finally my turn so here I go." She clicked the roll icon and the same loud booms were heard through the sky.

"I'm never going to get tired of that noise." Jasper finally said as he stood next to his battleship. "Reminds me of this beauty firing some victory shots at the end of the war.

Luann rolled her eyes as the dice finished rolling and yelled: "Twelve. I rolled a twelve. I will be so far ahead of everyone." She jumped on the back of the silver dog. "See you later. If you all ever catch up to me." She sat there for a minute, but the dog didn't move.

"Looks like you aren't going anywhere. You dog seems like it's sleeping." Moe teased as everyone gave Luann mean looks.

"Seems you are still here with us." Smithers added. "But your hand is glowing again."

"Once you leave we won't be around to help you play the game. You will have to think for yourself." Lisa also added.

"I'll be fine on my own, you will all see." Luann replied as she lifted the MyPad back up to see why it was glowing. The display had change to show the twelve she rolled with the dice, and said: doubles, plus one turn. She showed everyone as she bragged. "I'm the first to get an extra turn."

"Just make sure you don't waste it." Jasper warned her.

The dog started to glide away from the others as Luann gave a last shout, but no one really heard what she said. They didn't care to hear what she said.

The ride took as long as it possibly could. Luann grew impatient riding the silver dog into the great unknown. "Twelve is as far as anyone can move in one turn, so any roll after this won't take as long."

She started to get more excited as her destination came into view. "I must be here. Wherever here is." The dog slowed down as it approached a wide flowing river. A small pedestrian bridge crossed the river and led to a dirt trail towards a huge dam.

Luann dismounted the dog and took a long look at the size of the river and dam. "This is big. It might be time to take a hike." She said out loud, to herself. "Someone has to be here."

She petted the dog on the head and starting walking toward the bridge. It was built of wood planks and rope, but when she started across, it seemed more sturdy than it looked. "Why is this thing not moving? It should be shaking with every step." She stopped and then jumped up and landed. The bridge still did not move. "This is weird. It should be shaking. Something doesn't seem right." She was confused but walked across and looked around.

The dirt trail started at the end of the wooden bridge. To the right was a long path that led past a few trailers and eventually in to the dam, to the left it wandered into the forest. "I don't know what waits in the forest, so I think the trailers would be a better guess."

A few steps down the path, behind a few large trees, she noticed a big sign that said: 'Hydro and Electric Dam'. "At least I know the structure in front of me is a hydroelectric dam. I figured it had to be a dam. I know what one of those are." She sarcastically said to herself.

She continued down the path and passed another sign. 'For Sale'. It looked just like the first sign. The trailers were getting closer the further down the path she walked.

Another sign appeared behind a few more trees. 'Electric-side For Sale. Inquire within'. She thought for a second before taking a few more steps and found the sister sign. 'Hydro-side For Sale. Inquire above'.

"Inquire above? That makes no sense. Above what?" She questioned but did not receive an answer standing on the path alone. "The trailers still seem like they should have some answers in them."

The dirt path continued towards the dam and the trailers. "I wish the dog would have dropped me off closer." Even alone, the snide comments were still spoken out loud. "That dog could be more helpful." She said as she approached the first trailer on the right.

It was a standard single-wide trailer that had been set up as an office. It was sturdy and it was cheap. There was a door that Luann tried to open, but it was locked. "Figures." She scoffed as she walked to the windows to spy inside.

No one was inside, and all she could see were many file cabinets and drawings laying across tables. She tried to open a window, but those were locked too. "Glad this didn't help. Only three more trailers to go."

The next trailer appeared to be just as dark inside, but this time the door handle turned and the door opened. "Hello?" She called before walking in. "Anyone here?" She waited a second for a response. No one answered. She flipped on the switch beside the door and several ceiling lights came on. "I guess no one is here, so I'll just help myself to a quick look around.

"Locked." As she tried to open the first file cabinet. "Locked again." The second file cabinet didn't open either. "Still locked." She screamed as she punched the third file cabinet. "Let me search the desk instead."

She walked towards the desk which was a mess. It was stacked with papers, notes, and assorted drawings. None of which Luann could make heads or tails of. She moved some of the papers to show the wooden surface. It was a good place to start. "Might be something useful, once I get through all the clutter." Most of the unwanted pages she moved to the top of the file cabinet, then proceeded to sit in the chair.

The first thing she picked up was a notebook full of hand-written notes. She read several pages to see if anything of interest could be found. "Mayor meeting. What is a mayor meeting?" She continued reading the next couple pages and saw some interesting notes.

'Electric #12 and Hydro #28' and 'I am the mayor.' She read and started to think what it meant. "Who is the mayor?" She continued on now reading aloud. 'One utility is four, both are ten.' She looked confused at that sentence. 'Paired with the railroad guy. Mr Berg-something.' She seemed to have found what she needed, but figured more information couldn't hurt.

Next on the her list was the desk calendar with several dates circled in red. 'Tenth: First game begins. Eleventh: First games ends.' She paused as she thought to herself, "That was short." She continued looking for important dates. 'Twenty-first: Emergency mayor meeting, game starts immediately'. "Well, today is the twenty-first, is this referring to us? All these notes seem to be about our game. Today's date is a giveaway. Electric #12. I did roll a twelve to get here. I just wonder what the four and ten deal with, and who is Mr Berg-something. Yet more questions to..."

She stopped mid-sentence as there was the noise of footsteps outside. She quickly hid in an area behind the desk and next to a file cabinet she thought no one could see her.

The door opened and a man entered. "Hello? Someone in here? Or did the mayor forget to turn out the lights again. We make energy, no sense wasting it." The man said as he turned off the lights, locked the door, and left.

Luann did not know whether she should have answered or hid. But now the lights were out and it was rather dark. "That couldn't have been the mayor since he was looking for him. I should continue looking for the mayor." She came out from her hiding spot and walked across the dark room, and left the trailer. "Two more to check out."

The next trailer was a few yards down the path, and Luann made her way to it. She decided this time to look in the window first before trying the door. This office trailer looked very organized. Everything was straight and orderly. Tables of neatly stacked papers. The desk was perfectly aligned. "Maybe this is where I need to go. At least it looks better than the last one." But when she tried the door, it was locked. "Figures again. The nice trailer had to be locked. One more to try."

The further down the path toward the last trailer she got, she could not help but looking up and seeing the dam grow in size. "If this truly is for sale. I should buy it. It is big and could be worth a lot of money."

As she approached the last trailer, light shone out of its windows. Luann thought she should quietly approach it. Voices could be heard from inside. This was the moment she decided that answers were more important than stealth. What could they do anyways? "I need to find the mayor. This is the best chance to find him."

Through the window she could see a meeting in progress. Six men in suits around a central table. She politely knocked and the conversation inside stopped.

The door opened as the man closest to the door answered. "Can I help you?" He calmly asked.

"I am looking for the mayor." Luann confidently said. "Are you the mayor, or is he inside this trailer?"

"I am not the mayor." The man replied. "But I do work for him. We all do and unfortunately for you, he is not in this meeting. Did you check his trailer. It is the second one."

Luann did not know whether to admit she was snooping and hiding inside, or just play dumb. The delay in her answer got to the point she had to make a decision.

"There was no one in that trailer." She admitted without lying. "This is the only one I have found people in. Can you tell me where the mayor is. I would like to buy the dam."

"Buy the dam? We just finished building it a few days ago. It is already for sale?" The man was confused. "Why didn't they tell us it was being sold?"

"The For Sale signs. Down this path. Have you not seen them?" Luann asked.

"I don't really pay attention. I'm just a planner." The man stated.

"Does the mayor know the dam is for sale? What can he tell me about the first game? Why was it so short? And this second game that I'm a part of, what does he know?" Luann asked so many questions, but got zero answers.

"What game? Is this a joke? We are just city planners in here, and we are planning the next structure." The man tried to close the door, but Luann's foot prevented that.

"Next structure? What is it? You must tell me. I need to know." She demanded.

"All I know is, Mr Moneybags wants to expand the city in the near future with more houses on properties, and maybe some hotels. We, the city planners, have to come up with a construction plan for zoning." The planner responded. "The mayor is probably inside the dam polishing his statues. They just got delivered yesterday. Just check in with the guard and ask for Cecil." The man finished and closed the door.

Luann felt she had got the answers she was looking for and continued toward the dam. At least now she had the name of a person.

The dam was towering now as she stood at the base of it, next to a guard-house. "Need something?" The guard asked.

"I was sent here to talk to Cecil." She answered.

"Sent by who?" The guard wondered. "This dam is brand new, and you are the second person here, besides the delivery guy."

"It's a long story. The silver dog dropped me off..." She started to explain.

"Cecil said weird things would be happening around here. Ever since the statues arrived. Go inside and turn right. Down the hall to the turbine room. You'll find him. He is polishing that statue again." The guard gave her directions, and pressed a button to unlock the door.

It opened and Luann walked inside, turned right as the guard instructed, and continued until she was in a very large and very loud room. The turbine room was full of electric turbines driven by the waterfall inside the dam, where the result was electricity. Standing next to turbine number three was a tall man with a sponge, shining the statue.

"Excuse me sir. You must be Cecil." Luann interrupted his polishing.

"That is correct. Cecil Terwilliger, mayor of the Hydro and Electric Dam. How may I help you?" He turned to face her.

"I would like to buy the dam. Both halves. How much?" She looked him straight in the eye, and was ready to negotiate.

"I'm afraid that's not how it works. You came in on the electric side, so you can only buy the electric side." Cecil explained. "I am the mayor of both sides. But as a player of the game, one utility is available per entry. You will have to find the other space."

"So if this is the electric side, #12, the other side would be at #28. Take me there." Luann demanded.

"How do you know that if this is only your first roll? You possibly can't know that." Cecil looked annoyed at the information she already knew. "Being the mayor, I still have the advantage over you. I'm not telling you how to buy this property until you tell me how you know what you do."

This was the decision Luann didn't want to have to make. "Fine." She hesitated. "Your trailer was unlocked so..."

"You took a look inside. What did you see?" Cecil questioned nervously.

"Why was the first game so short with Professor Frink and where is he now?" Luann questioned back to show she had gained some knowledge from inside his trailer.

"He played the game with the wrong strategy. I never saw him here at the dam, so I don't have first-hand information why he lost. Even at the meeting he wouldn't explain how he lost so fast. Seven turns and it was game over. I will warn you to be extremely careful. This game will change drastically when Burns gets bored."

Luann was stunned at what she had heard. "So Professor Frink is alive?"

"Oh yes. Alive and well. Well, maybe just alive. He is around here somewhere. Maybe you will find him, and he can tell you what he did wrong. Anyways, this statue is the key to the game. Just place your MyPad in his hands and the rest will be told. I have another statue to shine. Maybe I'll see you around." Cecil walked away with sponge in hand and left Luann to do what she had come to do.

She placed her MyPad in Burns' hands and stood back as two holographic Burns appeared beside the statue. One on each side. The left one was green, the right one was red. The one on the left spoke first.

"Welcome to the electric side of the Hydroelectric dam. This side is for sale, and for your information so is the other side. One hundred fifty dollars will buy this side of the dam. When anyone else visits here, they will be charged four times the normal admission price for a tour. Now make your decision."

She thought for a quick second. "The four and the ten. If I can get both, does that mean ten times the price. It sounds like a great deal." She pressed the buy button and received three receipts from the statue. The left holographic Burns disappeared as the right one remained. The first receipt said title-deed. The second showed her a balance of thirteen hundred fifty dollars remaining. The third was a coupon for a free entry to the hydro-side of the dam.

As she finished reading this coupon, the red hologram Burns spoke. "You are the first to roll doubles, it will be your turn again. As a way to help speed up the game. Please remove your MyPad from the statue and place it in my hands."

She was confused how placing it into a holograms arms would even work but figured since the beginning bridge seemed weird, this couldn't be any worse. She removed it from the statue hands and placed it into the holograms arms.

"Excellent. Now watch this." The hologram said in a strange tone. Nothing happened. "Now go back to your silver dog. Remove the MyPad and I'll meet you there.

She did as ordered and removed it. The red hologram faded away. It still appeared as nothing had happened. "Watch this? Whatever." She scoffed and left the turbine room, and exited the dam.

As she left the door, the guard was nowhere to be found. This didn't bother her, so she continued down the path. She approached the trailer with the zoning meeting and thought she should thank the man for helping her. She tried the door and it would not open. The lights were still on so she peered through the windows.

They were all standing around the table shaking hands. She knocked on the window and waited a second, but no one moved. "No one is moving, as if they are frozen." She felt a chill and looked around at an eerie quiet. This was the time she didn't notice the sound of the water around the dam either. It was perfectly quiet.

She hurried back to her dog to escape from this quiet, and as promised a red hologram was standing beside the dog. "Hello again."

"What did you do?" She asked out of confusion.

"It is still your turn, so I froze time so you could return to your token and continue your turn without anyone being able to interrupt you." The hologram explained. "You will learn later that actions can be taken while it isn't even your turn. Just consider this a free lesson." And with that, the hologram disappeared and the noise of falling water was heard again.

She looked down at the MyPad as it lit up with a roll icon. She cautiously pressed it and the familiar booms were heard.

"I guess time is ticking again. I just need to move on and away from the red hologram."


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

"Loud booms, stable wooden bridges, and red holograms that can freeze time. I thought this would be a normal game." Luann said nervously as she pressed the roll icon. "Please not twelve again." She paused before continuing. "The dog moving on its own is strange. How do I know where it will go, or even if it knows where to go?"

The booms were as loud as they had been, but Luann stood next to the silver dog and stared up at the dam. "I just hope none of those loud noises break the dam. I just bought it." She looked at the dog and then the MyPad.

"I don't know if looking at what I rolled makes any difference." She looked anyways. "Nine. At least it is not another double."

Luann climbed on top of the dog and took one last look at the dam, before her view was obstructed by the forest the dog started to enter.

The forest was dark as it was covered by a thick canopy of trees. The dog stayed on a dirt path that looked like it had been worn in over time. "This seems like a creepy forest. Why did the dog go this way, couldn't we have gone around the trees and stayed in the daylight?" She said with her usual attitude and slapped the back of the dog, as if she expected something to happen. The dog continued along the path for another few seconds before Luann came up with an idea.

"What if I jumped off the dog now?" She pondered this a second before leaping off and landing on the grass beside the trail. She stood still for a second and saw trees in every direction. "I guess there is no where else to go in here." Another couple of steps into the trees revealed the same. "Maybe the dog does know where he is going and if he does, that was my ride out of the forest. I should go back to him."

She turned around and walked the same way she had just came from. Beyond the trees and on the path, the dog sat a few feet ahead of where she jumped. "I guess it knows." She commented before noticing a blue holographic Burns standing in front of the dog. "That's weird. I thought the holograms were green and red. Blue is new."

She slowly approached the dog. "The red one froze time, somehow. Maybe the blue one can speed it up. I don't know. Why can't this just be a normal game?" She screamed hoping that would help. "I should have declined when I was picked as a substitute. Too late for that now, I'm still here to win." She confidently said and walked closer to the dog. "Maybe if I walk around them, I can continue."

Luann strode past the dog and the blue Burns, and continued on the path through the forest. She continued for a second until it felt like something was watching her. "Rule violation." A voice said behind her.

"Who said that? Is someone there?" She nervously asked before turning around. The blue holographic Burns was now facing her instead of the dog.

"You are being informed of a rule violation. Rule 17a states: You must stay on your assigned token until you reach the destination as rolled. In which you will be informed you have arrived." The voice came from the blue Burns as a shocked Luann tried to figure out how it knew. "Please return to your token so the game can continue."

"This game is getting too weird. I should just play along to finish." She thought as she walked toward the dog. The blue Burns vanished when she climbed on her dog. "I just want out of the forest."

As she made her wish, the dog started to move again and glided along the path. A few short seconds later, there was daylight coming from between the trees as the exit appeared.

The dog emerged from the forest. "I made it. I'm out of the forest, but where am I?" She questioned as a few warehouse buildings came into view. She rode past two of them before the dog started to slow down and stopped in front of a run-down building.

It was a three-story building with all glass windows with metal bars along each side. It looked like it was still in use, but really needed to be torn down. She looked around and wondered if this was truly the right place, then her thought was answered. "You have arrived at Kentucky Avenue." The voice said from her MyPad as it showed her the nine spaces she had traveled.

"I guess this is what the blue Burns meant when he said I would be informed when I had arrived." She got a confused look after the animation. "How was that nine spaces when I traveled through the woods, and ended up here." She shrugged it off and jumped off the dog.

She approached the warehouse and saw a red-painted wood sign out front that said 'Box Factory'. She walked past this and peered around the corner of the warehouse, and saw a couple of empty lots with signs that read: 'Coming soon'. She turned back around and walked toward the front door as it seemed to move slightly and a click could be heard. "Is someone there?" She asked as she noticed the red-painted sign now read 'Kentucky Avenue' and a new sign beside it read: 'For Sale. Inquire Within.'

"That sign wasn't there a minute ago. Did someone just add it and run inside?" She checked out the sign and decided to walk inside. "If this property is for sale also, it should be easy to buy, since I already know the process. I just need to find the blue Burns. Or was it the red one? There was a green one too. Oh, I don't remember. I'll just go ask someone." She argued with herself as she grabbed the door handle and opened the door.

Inside was a large room with a conveyor belt that stretched around the room, with workers positioned on the outside. The center of the room had an elevator that went up into the ceiling.

"Hello everyone." Luann announced to the room. "Does anyone know where I can find a statue? A Burns statue, it looks like an old man." As soon as she said this, most of the workers stopped and turned towards her, but no one responded.

The conveyor started to pile up with cardboard as the worker who folded the boxes had stopped working, and the worker who put the glue on the cardboard had also stopped working. "Hey, boxes aren't getting made." Yelled another worker who seemed to have some authority.

"But sir, the lady is asking about the statue." The box folder replied.

"I heard what she said. It's not up to us to tell her about it." The leader answered.

"If it wasn't for that statue they delivered yesterday, she wouldn't even be here." The box gluer stated.

"Be quiet about the statue. We aren't supposed to tell anyone about it. They must find that out on their own, and any questions are to be directed to the manager." The leader of the manufacturer floor tried to keep the workers quiet, but the more they talked, the more information Luann gained.

She just stood and listened, but no one said anything further, as they cleaned up the boxes that were missed during the previous conversation.

"What if I can tell you all what the statue does?" Luann announced to gain the attention of the workers. "I know what it does and I can show you. I just need someone to take me to it."

The workers tried to ignore her, but curiosity got the better of them. "I saw them bring in the statue, but they took it right on the elevator." A box stacker explained.

"I need to know where that statue is. I must buy this property." Luann started getting excited knowing her trip into the box factory could be short. "The statue will allow me to buy this place. It will show me a red, or was it green, hologram that I can continue to play my game. Does anyone know about the game?" She paused as everyone continued to work this time. No one seemed interested in listening to her. "This is all a game!" She yelled at the workers.

"This is our job, making boxes and shipping boxes. That's all we do." The leader replied. "There is no game."

"It is a game. I came from a place and was transported here by..." Luann started.

"Come with me, and I'll take you upstairs to meet the manager." The leader suggested as he walked to the elevator and pressed the up arrow.

"Can you explain to me what I need to know?" Luann asked as she also took a few steps to stand next to the central elevator.

"I can help you, but the workers down here don't need to know." The leader said as the elevator door opened and the two of them entered.

The elevator slowly rose up to the second floor where a bell indicated they were there. The doors opened to reveal a hallway with several rooms that could be seen behind glass walls. "Please wait inside while I go get the manager." The manufacturing floor leader said he exited the room.

Luann patiently waited for the manager and decided to see what information she could gain from this property. "I should think of what questions I need to ask the manager." She stood up and walked around the long table as she had seen some papers on the other end of the table. "Maybe I can find something."

She started shuffling through the loose papers and only found a few random notes that didn't amount to anything. "Nothing here. This isn't like Cecil's trailer where secrets were just laying about. I need to try to get back there, somehow, and see what else I can find. Hopefully no one else figures out that property has many answers."

A knock on the door disrupted her thinking, as a man could be seen through the glass. "Can I come in? I hear you are looking for me. I am the manager."

"Yes, please come in. I have lots to ask you about this game I'm playing and about the statue you received." Luann said as she had a seat at the table, and invited the manager to sit with her.

"First, allow me to introduce myself. I am the manager of the box factory. Everyone calls me The Manager. My floor leader sometimes calls me the Mayor of Kentucky Avenue." The Manager explained.

"Don't you have a name. Mine is Luann van Houten." Luann added.

"I do. It is The Manager." He answered again. "I prefer the name Manager over Mayor. Now what it is you want to know."

"I have so much to ask. Let me think where to start..." Luann was interrupted before starting her questions.

"I am a busy man, as I am in charge of this factory, and the buildings that are being prepared behind this warehouse. I have time now to answer three questions, so make them count."

"Only three questions. I already learned some information from Cecil at the Hydro and Electric Dam, so I'll ask questions that add to that information." She hoped by suggesting she knew more than she did would get The Manager to give her some information.

"It appears you have already taken a turn. If this is your first turn, you must have rolled doubles. Hydro and Electric Dam is twelve spaces from the start. You must have rolled 'boxcars'. That's my favorite roll since I manage a box factory." He laughed to himself, but Luann didn't think it was as funny.

"How did you know I rolled a twelve?" She asked amazed that he knew that.

"We were all shown the board layout at the emergency mayor meeting right before you all started playing." He answered her first question. "That's one question."

"I didn't intend for that to be a question. Let's see..." She was disappointed at her mistake.

"A question is still a question whether or not it was intended." He replied.

"The emergency mayor meeting seemed like it was important. All the mayors from all the properties meeting before the game to discuss how we would play this game." She stated as she stared at The Manager trying to gain more information.

"That was not a question." He glanced at his watch. "I only have time for two more questions."

"I need more information about why we are all here!" She got excited. "How was that not a question asking about the meeting?"

"A question usually involves someone asking something they don't know. You merely stated that we all had a meeting. It is true. There was a meeting." He replied again. "That's two questions."

"I better watch myself. I only have one question left." She said more depressed than her plan of information gathering is falling apart.

"The game started and I wasn't ready for anyone to move twenty-one spaces on their first turn. So I had to hurry and change the sign once I saw you pull up on your silver dog." The Manager continued.

"I thought it changed. How could you tell I was here?" Luann inadvertently asked her third question.

"I watched from my office on the third floor, while I tried to figure out what exactly the Burns statue does." He explained right before disappointing her. "That's three questions. I have to get down to the construction site." He stood up from the table and walked towards the door.

"Wait!" She yelled. "At least tell me how to get to your office."

"Take the elevator to the third floor. Find the office that is different. It has a Burns statue in it." He explained but Luann thought it was a very dumb explanation.

The Manager took the elevator down to the first floor, and when it returned, Luann took it to the third floor. "I could have figured this out by myself. So much for getting any information from him. I'll just do the next best thing, search his office."

The elevator stopped at the third floor and she exited. The Manager was correct in all the offices looking the same. Luann started down the hallway and glanced into every office. After three of the exact same office, she reached a corner, and turned right down another hallway. The offices along this wing were all the same too. She rounded another corner and saw an office with a single desk and a Burns statue inside.

The sign on the door showed it was The Manager's office. "This must be it. It says 'The Manager', but it also has a statue. Hopefully this one just lets me buy the property so I can get out of here." She seemed hesitant and cautious as she entered the room.

"Here is my destination, but first I wonder..." She thought as she looked closely at the desk and could see nothing of interest. "Maybe the file cabinets." She tried three sets of file cabinets as in Cecil's trailer, and just as before they were all locked. "Everyone seems to be guarding information about this game. What are they all hiding from us."

The Burns statue lurked in the room, as Luann could not focus her attention on anything else. "I guess I just need to finish my turn, then I can search the office." She stood in front of the Burns statue and placed her MyPad into its hands as she had done before. Only a green holographic Burns appeared this time. "Only green. No red, and definitely no blue." She said relieved.

"Greetings and welcome to the box factory on Kentucky Avenue, where square boxes are made. You can own this property for the price of two hundred twenty dollars as it is unowned. The fee for a factory tour will be eighteen dollars. There are three red properties in this group. Make your decision." The holographic Burns stated as Luann imagined this speech, as it gave a similar one at the dam.

"I still think it is a good idea to buy everything. It may help me later on." She pressed the buy button as she said this, and the holographic Burns disappeared. She waited as it printed her receipts. Even when she knew what was supposed to happen, it still didn't happen fast enough for her. "Come on." She impatiently said as she kicked the shins of the statue. "And give me my title-deed." She grabbed the receipts out of the statue. "Here is the title-deed. This is what I need." She tried to read the other piece of paper, but she had ripped it in half. "I can't read this. I know I have money. I'll figure it out later." The money didn't seem as important as the title-deed.

She waited for a second as the booms were heard outside the building.

"Now I can search the office, as long as The Manager doesn't come back. Where should I start? I just need to pay attention to when my next turn is." She said as she sat down at the desk and looked through the top drawer.


End file.
